A Tale of Two Sixes
by Semerket
Summary: Strange circumstances bring a Cylon to Voyager. How will she adapt to her new environment? Femslash.
1. Part 1

Fandom: Battlestar Galactica / Star Trek Voyager crossover

Pairing: Seven of Nine/Six

Rating: PG-13, for themes

Disclaimer: I don't own em. The title for this fic was inspired by Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.

Summary: Circumstances bring a Cylon to Voyager. How will she adapt? This is femslash.

A/N: I don't spend much time describing either world so I assume that the reader is familiar with at _least_ one of the fandoms... otherwise it might be confusing. And any discrepancies with the canon time line are quite intentional... its AU. I self beta, so I'd like to pre-apologize for any errors. As always, please review.

**A Tale of Two Sixes**

by Semerket

Part 1

"Good afternoon, Chakotay." Captain Janeway greeted her first officer warmly as she entered the bridge. She had a mug of steaming coffee in her hand.

"Captain."

"Anything exciting happen while I was away?"

He smiled jovially, "I hear all the excitement is in engineering these days."

"You have no idea." Janeway rolled her eyes and smiled as she took her seat on the bridge. After taking a long sip of her coffee, she placed it on a small table beside her chair. Then the ship began to shake slightly. She turned her head to Ensign Kim who was standing at his console. "What's our status, Mr. Kim?"

"The sensors are picking up some anomalous readings from a nearby nebula."

"Why didn't we pick them up on long range sensors?"

The young Asian man looked baffled. "They didn't show up until we entered this region of space, but there appears to be a large energy displacement directly ahead. Less than one light year."

"On screen." The bridge crew watched in awe as a bright, circular flash of light appeared in the distance and collapsed.

Captain Janeway eyed the disturbance warily. "Is that what I think it is?" Janeway asked, addressing no one in particular.

Chakotay spoke up, "It looks like a wormhole."

"Yes, but in my experience looks can be very deceiving." She briefly recalled the last time they tried to enter a wormhole. It had turned out to be a living organism- a hungry one. She glanced over at Kim. "Is it safe to take us in for a closer look?"

"Sensors indicate that the area is relatively stable, but there will be some turbulence the closer we get. At this distance I can't say how much though."

Kathryn quickly tapped her combadge. "Janeway to Astrometrics."

Seven's calm voice filled the air, "Captain?"

"What can you tell us about this nebula? Are we really looking at a wormhole?"

"My sensors confirm that it is an active and stable wormhole. The turbulence is being generated from the nebula not the wormhole itself. Based on its gravimetric patterns I would estimate it opens at an average of every three to four hours."

"Can you tell where it leads?" Janeway forced herself to keep any hint of desperation out of her voice as the implications of what it could mean for getting her crew home came charging into her mind.

"No."

"Can you make an educated guess?" Janeway grumbled internally. Sometimes getting information from the young woman was like pulling teeth.

"Guessing would be inefficient," Seven replied with an aloofness unique to her Borg past. Kathryn resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. Chakotay's eyes sparkled with mirth as he listened to the exchange. Remembering that she was already in enough trouble, the former drone added, "If we were able to get close enough for short range sensors I could provide you with a more affirmative response."

"Thank you, Seven. Janeway out." The Captain turned to look at Harry. "Harry, explain our situation to Be'lanna and get her to divert excess power to shields and sensors."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Captain Janeway turned to her first officer and looked at him questioningly, "What do you think?"

Chakotay took a deep breath, "I think I shouldn't get my hopes up."

"I know the feeling." Kathryn gave his arm a brief squeeze as she leaned back in her chair.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

"Stupid frakking skinjob!" The soldier shouted cruelly as he backhanded the blond Cylon sending her reeling into the wall of the tiny Colonial shuttle craft.

The dazed Six sat up and touched her shackled hands to her head. When she pulled her hand away she realized that she was bleeding profusely. She said worriedly, "I tried to tell you. Now you'll get us all killed. You have to turn around!" Six's fear of the man's rage was now paling in comparison to her fear of the strange spacial rift they'd flown her into. The same soldier approached her again. He pulled her up by the neck and started choking her.

"If it wasn't for you lying skinjobs we wouldn't be in this mess!" He growled angrily. "I want you to say it! Say its your fault! We had to make a blind jump because of you!"

The soldier was squeezing her so hard that she could scarcely breathe let alone say anything if she had planned too. Three other soldiers stood by observing, but not really planning to intervene. If anything they were probably waiting for their turn to smack her around as well. Seeing an opening, Six took the opportunity to knee him in the groin, forcing him to relinquish his grip on her. Then, swinging both of her hands, she managed to punch him in the face.

The human male who piloted the shuttle craft barked nervously over his shoulder "Shut the frak up! All of you! James, I need you at co-pilot!" James hesitantly turned away from the scene he was observing and climbed into a seat near the cock pit. A female soldier moved to check on Six's unconscious abuser, while the third observer trained his pistol on the Cylon.

Six knew this would be the end. She briefly wondered if there were any resurrection ships in range, but it didn't really matter. She was tired of everything. Tired of this war, tired of dying only to resurrect and be sent back into danger. The humans weren't worth all this were they? Now he was smiling at her as though he knew her thoughts.

"Pray to your god, toaster." The soldier snarled. She watched his finger squeeze the trigger as she braced herself. Whether by pure luck or an act of God, in that moment the tiny shuttle began to quake violently, tossing its passengers like rag dolls. The bullet that was intended for the Cylon missed, striking a panel instead. Sparks ignited in the small shuttle as they reacted with a fluid leak. The shaking was so intense that all anyone could do was try to hold on to something while avoiding the flames. The pilots had obviously lost control as the shuttle rolled mercilessly.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Captain Janeway leaned back and reached for her coffee mug. The calm was brutally shattered by intense shaking and a bright light. Several crewman were thrown to the ground from the sudden impact. Captain Janeway didn't know what aggravated her more, the shock of being knocked around or watching her fresh coffee spill on the floor.

"Report!" Kathryn barked as she collected herself.

"Captain the mouth of the wormhole was on top of us...my sensors have all gone crazy."

"Tom, get us out of here."

"With pleasure." Tom replied already pulling the ship back.

Janeway tapped her combadge, "Bridge to Seven of Nine."

"Captain?"

"I need you on the bridge, now!" Janeway commanded.

"Yes, Captain."

Seven arrived on the bridge a few moments later. As she stepped up to her console she was assaulted with eager questions from the Captain. "What is the wormhole doing? You said it was stable and opens in intervals of three to four hours."

Seven tapped in some commands as she observed the sensor logs. "That is correct; however, there is the possibility that something may be manipulating it from the other end."

"That doesn't explain it appearing on top of us."

"The radiation coming from the nebula is likely affecting where the mouth of the wormhole manifests."

Janeway seemed satisfied with her responses and calmed down a little. "Can we determine where it will reopen?"

"Perhaps, but it will take more scans before a pattern can be established." Chakotay was about to say something to the Captain when Seven continued. "Because the wormhole appeared in such close proximity I was able to get an idea of where the other side might be. I am unable to pin point the exact system, but it is not in the direction of Earth."

Janeway released a deep breath she had been holding in. "Alright then. Lets try to fly around this mess. We can do some research on the area as we pass through."

Another flash of bright light blinded the bridge crew accompanied by more intense shaking. This time it would leave no one standing on the bridge.

"Damage report."

Her hair only slightly mussed, Seven replied in her usual monotone,"Shields are at fifty three percent, left aft thrusters are off line. Captain, an object came through the wormhole."

"On screen." Kathryn commanded. The bridge crew observed what appeared to be a small metallic object tumbling through space.

Chakotay's face wore a curious expression, "Is that a ship?"

Seeing the burn marks and frayed edges, pilot Tom Paris replied, "More like what's left of one."

Kathryn walked closer to the screen, "Any life signs?"

Harry replied, "One, and its very faint."

"Hail them," Kathryn looked at the screen, "This is Captain Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager, do you require assistance?"

"No response to hails, Captain."

"Harry alert the doctor that he has incoming to sickbay and beam the survivors over."

"Yes, ma'am. Initiating transport. Transport complete." Soon after Harry spoke the wreckage exploded leaving nothing behind.

"Mr. Paris get us out of this region. I don't care if we have to do it on one thruster," Janeway headed towards the turbolift, "Seven, Tuvok, I want you to accompany me to sickbay so we can get some answers about who or what we just beamed over. Chakotay, you have the bridge."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

When the trio arrived in sickbay they were greeted by the sight of the Doctor racing around his office grabbing medical equipment and hyposprays. He almost didn't notice the groups entrance as he rushed back over to his new patient, skillfully whipping open his medical tricorder as he did so.

Janeway stepped over to where the doctor worked furiously. "What do we have Doctor?"

He became peevish at her inquiry. This was his space and he had more important things to do than answer questions at the moment. He rattled off the list testily, "Internal bleeding, contusions, severe burns, broken bones, injuries consistent with assault. I assume the burns were from damage to the shuttle. She was also some kind of prisoner. I had to remove a pair of shackles." He punctuated the last part of his statement by snapping his tricorder shut and heading purposefully towards his office.

Seven moved closer to the biobed to get a better look at the new patient. The elevated bed held a woman with slightly curly, shoulder length platinum blond hair who appeared to be about Seven's age. It was obvious that she was very pretty even though much of her right side was marred by angry burns and her right eye was bruised and swollen.

The Doctor returned with more hyposprays. "Have you determined her species, Doctor?" Kathryn inquired. She now observed the patient from a distance with Seven and Tuvok.

Tuvok chimed in with his Vulcan monotone, "She appears to be human."

The Doctor added patronizingly, "Her genetic structure tells us that she is human or something very similar. I'll be able to give you more details after I finish saving this woman's life! So if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

The Doctor moved around the table and pressed a hypospray to her neck. After a brief hiss the woman's eyes popped open. The disoriented Cylon immediately noticed Seven and focused on her. She locked eyes with the tall drone and lifted her arm towards her.

"Sister?" The woman's voice cracked with pain. The former drone felt an overwhelming urge to comfort the woman and quickly took the other blond's hand and stood beside her bed.

Upon closer inspection the young Cylon realized that she was not another Six as she had initially thought. The woman studied her curiously, "Who are you?"

"My designation is Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One." Seven said hesitantly, but then added, "But most refer to me as Seven."

It took a few seconds for the injured Cylon to absorb what she'd said. "You are Seven?" The hoarseness of her voice was unable to mask her sense of awe.

"Yes." Seven replied cautiously, believing the woman may object to having a former Borg at her bedside. Then, to Seven's surprise, the woman smiled pleasantly. She seemed genuinely relieved.

"I've always wondered what the seventh would look like," the woman reached up and gently touched the metal of Seven's optical implant. The intimate contact made Seven feel uncomfortable. No one, with the exception of the Doctor, had ever voluntarily touched her implants for fear of them. Seven reached up and gently grabbed the other woman's arm and carefully brought it back down to the bed. The Six coughed a little, obviously causing herself pain in the process. A few seconds later the woman lost consciousness again.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

_Several days later..._

"Interesting. So she's not human?" Kathryn asked the Doctor as they leaned over his desk in sickbay studying several data pads.

"No, not entirely; more than ninety five percent of her DNA is human, but she also has components that are nonhuman. At first I thought she had undergone some sort of previous medical procedures."

Kathryn observed the data in fascination as her scientific background fueled her curiosity. She glanced at the young woman who was still unconscious on the biobed. She turned back to the Doctor.

"Components? You mean organs?"

"Not exactly. Her spinal column and parts of her nervous system are made out of compounds that are definitely not found in the human body such as silica. But her genetic structure argues that she is indeed human- at least to a large degree. One could even theorize that her physiology is cybernetic in nature; however, I've never seen these compounds used for such purposes."

"Is it similar to Borg technology?"

"Quite the opposite actually. Unlike the Borg there are no nanoprobes or intrusive mechanical implants controlling her bodily functions. I would describe her body's relationship with these foreign compounds as symbiotic. Parts of her body are non organic, but for all intents and purposes she is human."

Kathryn perched on the edge of his desk, "Could she be a hybrid of some sort? Could one of her parents or family members have been another species?"

"Well that's exactly what I thought at first, but look at these..."

Six slowly peeled her eyes open only to be blinded by a bright light. Recalling her circumstances, she quickly sat up bringing a wave of vertigo on herself in the process. Across the room she could make out a semi-bald man in a black and green uniform talking to a woman wearing a similar, but red uniform. Their backs were turned to her and they were so engaged in conversation that they didn't notice her sit up.

The Cylon glanced down at her body; she was pleased that her wounds were gone. After she gave herself a once-over, she realized that she was naked save for the thin white sheet that had been covering her. She carefully stepped off the biobed and wrapped the sheet around herself. She hesitantly took a few steps away from the bed and took in her surroundings. The technology wasn't at all similar to her previous resurrection experiences. She felt another wave of dizziness coming on so she reached out to a nearby wall to steady herself.

Her movement finally caught the attention of the two occupants of the room. The Doctor smiled as he approached her with his tricorder, "Someone is feeling better I see. You've been unconscious for the last two days." Captain Janeway moved to the Doctor's side and observed the wide-eyed young woman. As she watched her she couldn't help but notice a familiar flip in her stomach, a sensation that she often experienced when she was with a certain blond astrometrics officer.

Six tilted her head as she scrutinized the people before her, "What model are you?" If she had just met a Seven, it didn't seem inconceivable that the other unknown models may also be present. She could swear the Seven had mentioned a Nine.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow as the Captain introduced herself, "I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager."

Realizing the woman was in charge she bombarded her with questions, "Starship. You mean base ship? Why have you moved me from the resurrection chamber? Did something go wrong during the download? I was in some kind of rift..."

Kathryn and the Doctor now wore puzzled expressions and glanced at each other. "I'm not sure we understand what you mean," Kathryn replied sympathetically. "We beamed you off your ship before it was destroyed by the wormhole. You were the only survivor."

The Captain gave the woman a moment to absorb the information. Suddenly the doors of sickbay swished open to admit Seven of Nine. With all the confidence in the world she strode over to the Doctor with the data pad he'd requested.

"Doctor, I brought you the-" As Seven got closer she saw the young woman standing with the sheet wrapped around her. The young drone lost her train of thought as soon as she laid eyes on the beautiful woman. "She is awake." Seven mumbled uncharacteristically as she felt her Borg-enhanced confidence ooze out of her.

"Seven." Six instinctively moved closer to the Seven, having felt a connection to the serious young woman that she had met earlier. The Cylon took in the other womans appearance, taking note of her perfect physique and beautiful face. It was no secret that Sixes often thought of themselves as the most attractive of the humanoid Cylon models. _'These Sevens could give us a run for our money.'_ She thought vainly.

As she let her gaze wander over the woman's face her eyes focused on a small star shaped implant near her ear. Her curiosity got the best of her and she allowed herself to reach up to touch it. This time the other woman grabbed her hand before it made contact with her face. For a moment the two blonds stood staring at each other with looks of confusion etched on both their faces. The Captain observed the scene with mild amusement.

Seven was bewildered, "You wish to... touch me?" Seven asked her as if she were crazy.

The Cylon shrugged and moved her hand away. The Cylons she knew were often touchy-feely. "I've never seen your model before. You're pretty-"

They were brought out of their reverie by the sound of the doctor clearing his holographic throat.

The Doctor moved over to Seven and accepted her data pad, "Thank you, Seven." He turned to the young woman. "You were saying something about a 'resurrection chamber'?"

Six's eyes darted from the Doctor to Seven. She knew there was no way she could have survived the shuttle. These people were strange. She tried to clarify, "I have a new body...the last one was destroyed."

Kathryn smiled though she also looked slightly puzzled by the woman's phrasing."I think what she means to say is that we have a very skilled physician," the Captain continued, "We were quite surprised to find another human in the Delta the Quadrant. What is your name?"

Six gave Janeway a look that said 'duh'. Hadn't these people seen a Six before? After all, they were one of the most common all-purpose humanoid Cylon models. There were millions of them on the home world. Then Six's eyes widened when the Captain's statement finally registered.

"You are all _human_?" She said trying to keep the terror out of her voice.

The Doctor answered smugly, "Well I'm an EMH- Emergency Medical Holo-program. Most of the crew consists of humans, but there are many different species aboard Voyager. Our crew is very diverse."

Kathryn nodded. The Cylon looked to Seven hopefully, "But you are not human?"

Seven shifted uncomfortably interpreting her question as a revulsion to the Borg, "I was assimilated by the Borg as a child, but I am no longer a part of the Collective. I have Borg implants, but I am now an individual."

Six gave Seven a slightly mortified stare because she wasn't a Cylon after all. Kathryn decided that explanations where in order.

"My crew and I were lost in the Delta Quadrant a few years ago. We're on our way back to our home: a planet called Earth."

The Cylon immediately put up her guard. _'Humans?'_ They were far too advanced to be Colonials, not to mention clean, but their technology was obviously not Cylon. Maybe they were telling her the truth. They were more advanced medically since they were able to treat her injuries in a few days when they normally would have taken weeks, assuming she could have been saved at all.

"So let me get this straight," Six said skeptically, "You're all from Earth?"

"Yes, we are. Well some of the crew members are from other planets, but most of them are from within Federation space." Kathryn replied, wondering why that seemed so unlikely to the woman.

Six felt like she was trapped in some kind of dream world, or perhaps a nightmare. Maybe this is what happened to Cylons who died and were unable to resurrect; they went to live with advanced humans in a pseudo afterlife. She chuckled at the ridiculousness. "Well my people are searching for Earth too." She said in earnest.

Kathryn smiled. Perhaps Voyager wasn't the only vessel from Federation space stuck in the Delta Quadrant. "And who are your people?"

Six's smile melted and now she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Explaining to them that she was part of a cybernetic race whose current goals consisted of annihilating and dominating their human creators...well that just wouldn't sound too appealing. She figured that if she couldn't tell them the whole truth then she could at least offer them half of it.

"My people are called Cylons. We are at war with a people called Colonials. The ship I was on was Colonial...I was a prisoner," she said sadly.

"Seven, did the Borg ever encounter Cylons?"

The tall drone responded, "I have no assimilated knowledge regarding 'Cylons' or 'Colonials'."

Captain Janeway evaluated the situation. "I see. Is there any way that we can get in contact with your people?" She directed her question to the Cylon.

Six shrugged and began to show signs fatigue, although it was more from the shock of her circumstances than her physical condition. "If you could show me where I am then perhaps I can figure out how to get back," she said offering a weak smile.

Sensing her distress the Doctor cut in, "I'm sure the Captain will have plenty of time to go over this with you later, but for now lets replicate you some clothes and assign you quarters since we aren't sure how long you'll be with us." The Doctor said giving Kathryn a 'look'.

Kathryn took the hint and backed off with the questions. "I'm sorry. I seem to have forgotten my manners," she smiled politely. "The Doctor is right. We should get you situated first." Kathryn motioned to the tall Borg, "Seven, why don't you help our guest get some clothes and then show her to the mess hall. I can have quarters ready by then." Before Kathryn turned to leave she asked, "Oh, you never did tell us your name?"

_'Think of a human name! Think of a human name!' _At first none came to mind. "Um," she glanced around nervously. "You can call me Six? Yes, Six!" Then the Cylon remembered that humans usually had at least two names. Since her previous experiences with humans never involved exchanging personal information she quickly spat out one of the few words she associated with them that was not the name of a colony. "Solaria." She took a deep breath. "You can call...my name is Solaria Six."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her befuddled response. Perhaps she was still too disoriented to leave sickbay. He pulled out his tricorder and scanned her one last time just to be sure.

"Its been nice meeting you Solaria. Its too bad it couldn't be under better circumstances." The Captain said in earnest. Six nodded and offered the Captain a smile before she left.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

The Cylon brushed her hands over her new attire. She'd had a difficult time over coming her model's obsession, what some would refer to as 'programming', and had to force herself not to select the familiar casual business attire that was such a common choice among Sixes. Instead she had settled for a form fitting black tank top and a pair of gray slacks with a low heel. Well she tried.

Six was fascinated by the woman who was leading her into the mess hall. She was cybernetic like herself, but the technology surrounding her 'implants' as she had referred to them, was nothing like Six had ever seen. The Cylon asked her many questions about the Borg on the way to their destination. She followed Seven down a series of corridors until they arrived at what she assumed would be the 'mess hall'. When they entered the large dining area it was empty and most of the lights were dimmed. It was late. The duo was immediately greeted by a jovial 'Talaxian,' as Seven had referred to him earlier.

"Why hello there!" Neelix chirped. "I've been expecting you. I'm Neelix, Voyager's Morale Officer." He extended his hand. The Cylon smiled and took it. She was fascinated by the man's appearance. He had yellow eyes and a tuft of yellow hair sprouting from the top of his head. She had never come into contact with any species outside her own, excluding the humans of course.

Remembering what the Doctor had explained to her about introductions, Seven took the initiative. "This is Solaria Six," Seven hoped it was the correct social response for the situation.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Six. I'm going to head into the kitchen and grab you something to eat." He said eagerly, "Will you be eating as well, Seven?"

"I do not require nutritional intake at this time," the ex-Borg monotoned. The kindly Talaxian ushered the two women over to a nearby table and then moved off into the kitchen. Seven observed Six as she plopped down into her seat. Seven followed her example and hesitantly sat down.

"You aren't hungry?" Six asked. Seven shook her head. "Will it bother you if I eat?"

The implant above Seven's eye rose slightly at her question. "I do not understand your inquiry. Why should it bother me? Would you require assistance?"

Six gave her a curious look. "No, its just polite to ask I suppose." She observed the former drone as she seemed to absorb the information. It was obvious to the Cylon that her social programming was vastly superior to her companion's, assuming that Seven ever possessed any at all.

Neelix strolled over to the duo with a tray of food in his hand. "Today I made leola root stew, but we ran out earlier so I replicated you a cob salad. The crew seems to really like those."

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome." The Talaxian smiled and blushed at the beautiful woman. "Just let me know if you need anything."

"I'll keep that in mind." Neelix nodded and went back into the kitchen area leaving the two women alone. Seven made a mental note of the way he responded to Six.

The Cylon stuck a fork into the food and brought it to her mouth with a bit of apprehension. Then after taking a bite she smiled. "This is pretty good." It was significantly better than the rations the humans had occasionally tossed at her.

Seven looked on with a hint of surprise at the woman as she wolfed down her food. "You are...quite hungry."

Realizing that she was making a scene, Six blushed profusely and replied, "Sorry, I haven't eaten in a while." She quickly shifted focus back to Seven, "So your implants...did it hurt when you got them?"

"I was too young to remember," Seven was surprised at her continuing interest. "May I inquire about you?"

"Of course." She said between mouthfuls.

"Why do the Borg continue to interest you?" Seven was beginning to worry that she was making the other woman uncomfortable.

Six shrugged and answered nonchalantly, "I'm cybernetic too." Six could swear she saw a look a surprise flash across the woman's face, but it disappeared quickly. She explained, "I mean we don't have 'implants,' but we don't consider ourselves human. We also have a basic set of programming for our personalities. Over time our experiences are what make us individual. That's why I've been asking you so many questions. You're like me," Six smiled at the last part.

Seven absorbed the information and began to feel anxious, the idea that there were others like her was something the former drone could only dream of. "Intriguing." She paused, "And there are others like you?"

"Cylons? Yea, plenty." She quickly added, "Not all of us are organic though. Some are machines with a limited set of programming." Six went back to focusing on her meal and with the way she shoveled down her food it didn't take her long to finish.

"And you feel emotions?" Seven asked hesitantly.

"Of course. Don't you?"

Seven looked down at her hands experiencing an emotion that could be described as shame, "I can, but due to my limited experiences with humanity I am often unable to identify them. Have you ever experienced this?"

Six shook her head. "No, I can usually identify my emotions, but there are probably some that I have yet to experience."

Seven remained silent while Solaria ate. She pondered the woman in front of her. She hoped that she wouldn't be leaving too soon. For once Seven felt as though she found someone that might understand her.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

After they'd left the mess hall Seven escorted her charge to a turbolift. "Deck four."

Six pretended to observe the operation of the lift, but most of her attention was actually focused on Seven. She wanted to find out everything she could about the beautiful woman standing beside her. The Cylon realized that Seven had caught her staring again. The two women now found themselves in an awkward silence as they headed down the corridor.

"So I take it my quarters are on deck four?" She knew it was a dumb question, but she found that making conversation with Seven was like saying 'no' to a Three. Impossible.

"Correct. You will be in cabin four two zero located on deck four."

"And where do you live, Seven?" Six asked.

"I inhabit Cargo Bay Two; my alcoves are stored there."

Six fought the urge to gag. ' _A cargo bay? And they call us Sixes hardcore'._

Her reaction didn't go unnoticed by Seven who was now feeling baffled by her reaction. "Is something wrong, Solaria?"

Six quickly smiled, "Oh no, nothing is wrong. I'm just a little surprised. I just assumed that a cargo bay would be, you know," The Cylon gestured with her hands as she responded ."A place for cargo."

"I lock the doors when I am regenerating." Seven stated a little defensively, suddenly worried about what the woman might think of her. She stopped in the corridor near a door; the doors swished open as Six approached.

"I take it this is it?" Six glanced at Seven and stepped inside what appeared to be a medium sized living room. She turned when she realized Seven was hovering just outside the door. She chuckled. "Seven, you can come in."

Seven tried to suppress a small blush that threatened to climb onto her cheeks. She cleared her throat nervously and stepped inside. Seven was confused at her response to such a simple request. The more time she spent in the other woman's presence the more nervous she became. Something about being in the woman's living quarters made her feel all the more awkward.

The Cylon listened intently to Seven as she gave her a brief tour of her quarters and explained how to use the basic appliances.

"So I can make food with the replicator?" Six liked this idea already.

Seven nodded, "Yes, food, clothing, and other necessities."

"If you can replicate food then why is there a mess hall?"

"Replicating requires resources from the ship. In order to preserve them we are encouraged to eat in the mess hall whenever we can," Seven said seriously.

"I see."

"Do you require anything else?"

"No, I think I'm set. Thank you, Seven." Six smiled. Seven felt a slight blush creep into her cheeks. Six immediately sensed her discomfort and realized the source.

Remembering her manners she replied stiffly, "You are welcome." Seven turned to leave and was halfway through the front door when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and then to Seven's surprise Six gave her a light kiss on the lips and punctuated it with a wink.

"Goodnight, Seven."

Seven wasn't sure how she made it back to her cargo bay because her brain had officially stopped functioning. Seven pondered her reaction with such focus that she was barely able to avoid slamming into a crewman. Six had kissed her-a former borg drone. She would need to do more research to understand the implications of Six's actions.

TBC...


	2. Part 2

Pairing: Seven of Nine/Six

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own em. The inspiration for the title is from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. This is **femslash**.

A/N: I self beta, so I'd like to pre-apologize for any errors. As always, please review.

**A Tale of Two Sixes**

by Semerket

Part 2

"I'm not sure. I recognize these constellations, but I have no idea how to triangulate my previous location from such a distance." Solaria rubbed her temples in frustration as she studied the star charts that Seven was viewing from a console in astrometrics. The duo had been going through charts and scans for the past few weeks and with every passing moment the Cylon realized her chances of getting back to her people were slim if not impossible. Captain Janeway had stopped by astrometrics to observe the two blonds as they searched for a solution. Solaria continued, "And besides, how do we even know that the wormhole will open at the same location anyway?"

Seven tilted her head thoughtfully, "You are correct. It is impossible to determine the consistency of the other end of the wormhole. We would have to study it from the other side in order to make an estimate."

Six looked a little hopeful. Kathryn gently placed a hand on the Cylon's shoulder, "And that is something that we simply cannot do. Surely you understand, Solaria. Its just too far out of the way and too unstable. I can't risk my ship and crew." The Captain said sympathetically.

The Cylon was crestfallen."Of course I do, Captain." As disappointed as Six was, a part of her didn't want to leave Voyager anyway. The possibility of a new life devoid of impending doom was quite appealing to the Cylon. So far the people she had encountered on Voyager seemed kind and accepting for the most part. There was also the issue of leaving Seven; she found herself drawn to her and she suspected that Seven felt the same way.

"In the meantime you are more than welcome to stay aboard Voyager."

"Thank you, Captain." Six smiled. "And I intend to do my part aboard Voyager."

"I'm glad to hear it. I'll be going over possible assignments for you. Let me know if you have any preferences or areas of expertise." The Captain excused herself and headed for the bridge, leaving Seven and Six alone in Astrometrics.

The silence immediately became awkward. Seven was still dwelling on the kiss that Six had given her when she had left her quarters. After extensive research on the subject she had come across two likely conclusions. It was either a friendly gesture or an invitation, but the Borg was unsure.

"Would you care to join me for lunch? I'm getting hungry." Six said.

"I have an appointment with the Doctor. Perhaps another time." Seven lied, using a phrase that she had come across during her exploration of Voyager's computer data base.

"Alright then. How about dinner in my quarters? Say at eight?" The Cylon sounded hopeful.

There was a long pause as Seven considered her next course of action. Seven realized that the kiss was meant to be an invitation. It both excited and terrified her. "I will arrive at eight," she monotoned.

"I'll see you then." Six beamed.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Six wandered the halls of Voyager comparing it to the long gray corridors on Cylon vessels. She felt a pang of homesickness as she made her way to the mess hall. She had been eating in her quarters during the first few weeks of her stay even though she'd been encouraged to use the mess hall. She simply hadn't been ready to associate with others from the ship and she had remained hopeful that she would return to her people. But now she was sure that leaving was no longer an option, and she realized she'd have to make an appearance eventually.

When she entered the mess it was bustling and well lit unlike the first day she'd been on Voyager. There was a lull in the conversation as people became aware of her presence. A few moments later conversation resumed again; she guessed much of it would be speculation about the new person. The Cylon couldn't help but feel a tinge of anxiety creep up. She had to remind herself that this wasn't a Colonial vessel; she didn't have to lie to these people... or kill them.

It didn't take long for Six to understand the drill: get in line, grab a tray, and get your ration. It seemed efficient enough. She chuckled to herself at the term. Seven was rubbing off on her. She wished she was with her right now.

Six smiled at Neelix after she received her portion and scanned the room for an empty table. Spotting one in the corner by a window, she made her way over there. Half way to her destination a young man waved at her before she walked past. He was sitting at a table with another man and a woman.

"Hi there! You must be new to Voyager. Care to join us?"

Six felt a little apprehensive. She'd never been 'social' with humans in the past, at least not in an amicable way. "I wouldn't want to interrupt..."

"No, not at all." The man beamed. She smiled and took a seat at the table. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. He introduced himself, "I'm Harry Kim, this is Tom Paris and Be'lanna Torres."

She nodded and used her new name even though it still felt foreign to her. "I'm Solaria Six."

Tom piped up, "So how have you been? Since we beamed you off that shuttle?"

"Well, I'm alive." Six replied as she stared absently at the gelatinous brown glob on her plate. She poked it with her fork and tried to hide her revulsion. This was very different than what she'd eaten the last time she was in the mess hall. "What was this again?"

Be'lanna snickered, "We try not to think about it, but its not quite as terrible as it looks." Six looked at Be'lanna inquisitively; her focused gaze caused the other woman to squirm. "What?" She asked testily.

"I've never seen anyone like you before." She said observing the ridges on Be'lanna's forehead.

"I'm half Klingon."

"Well you're very pretty Be'lanna," Six said sincerely.

The Klingon blushed at her compliment."Thanks."

"I really like the diversity of Voyager. Where I come from everyone looks the same." Six smiled at her own joke.

The man called Tom replied with subtle interest, "Is that so?"

Six waved it off nonchalantly. "You have no idea."

"We don't encounter many humans in the Delta Quadrant." Tom continued. "So your name is Six? Like the number?" Tom asked with genuine curiosity.

"Yes, but I suppose its more like a designation." Six used the term that Seven frequently utilized.

"Like our Seven?" Tom asked sounding positively amused. "You weren't assimilated by the Borg were you?" Tom asked jokingly causing everyone at the table to chuckle.

Six smiled too, but she remained slightly confused by his inquiry. Seven had mentioned that most people had a negative view of the Borg. Was Tom insulting her? "I don't understand what you mean."

And she really didn't. Her confusion was partially due to some ignorance of the Borg, but also because Six didn't have much more social experience than Seven. She just had better programming. Unlike some of her more popular sisters she was never used for infiltration. Instead she was used primarily in heavy combat operations. As a result, her social skills weren't as polished and she was often very conscious of what she said.

She also realized that it might be beneficial to avoid topics regarding cybernetics. Seven was able to convey to her that being associated with the Borg was considered a negative thing, and if what Seven said about the totality of Borg assimilation was true, then they wouldn't like the Cylons any better if they knew what they'd done to the twelve colonies.

Tom laughed good naturedly. "Oh its just the name thing. You know, like a _serial number_," he emphasized the last part much to the amusement of his friends.

Serial number.

Solaria hid it well, but she felt the dig. She realized that he had good intentions, but it was reminiscent of something the Colonials would call her. Toaster. Robot. Machine. They were inanimate objects and in the human world 'things' had serial numbers. Objects had serial numbers. She was an object. Objects were created for the convenience of man- a mechanical servant. The more she thought about it the madder she felt herself get. Six was a little surprised at herself. She hadn't realized what a toll her previous existence had taken on her, not mention that six _was_ her model number after all. _'Get a grip on yourself!'_

Six decided it was time for a subject change, "I was talking to the Captain earlier and she mentioned finding an assignment for me. I was wondering if you had any recommendations?"

Harry piped up, "We could always use more bridge crew."

Be'lanna asked, "Do you have a particular area of expertise?"

Six looked thoughtful. "I thought about security. I was a soldier before I came to Voyager. But I think I might prefer a change of pace. Perhaps something in engineering or astrometrics, or one of the sciences."

"Well a word of warning," B'Elanna continued, "Seven is in charge of astrometrics and she can be a real pain in the-"

Harry frowned, "Be nice, Be'lanna."

Six tried to hide the fact that she was mildly offended by the other woman's comment. "I've spent some time with Seven and she is a bit difficult socially, but I don't mind her company."

Six continued to chat with the group until she'd managed to finished most of her food. Afterwards she quickly excused herself; she still felt awkward in her attempts to converse.

"I think I'm going to invite her to Sandrine's" Harry beamed after Six left the table. "What do you guys think about her?"

Tom looked down at his drink, "She seems nice, Harry."

Harry frowned. "You don't sound very convinced."

Tom looked thoughtful as he tried to be honest with his friend. He shrugged, "Well, she seems nice-"

"Yes, you've said that."

"But she just seems a little off. I can't put my finger on it exactly." Tom said carefully.

"Harry, we think she's a weirdo." Be'lanna said bluntly. "If I have to listen to her go on and on about God one more time..."

"Well, I think she's nice!"

"I think her sanity blew with that shuttle. I mean don't get me wrong, she seems plenty 'nice'. But there's something strange about her and lets face it: anyone who enjoys Seven's company has some issues." Be'lanna and Tom both laughed.

Harry argued, "She's been through a lot! She's stranded on an alien vessel with no discernible way to get back to her people and no concept of where she is."

Tom tried to placate his friend, "Look Harry, we don't disagree with you and we don't dislike her. Its just that-"

"What?"

"You see a pretty face and 'wham' you're infatuated. Just because there's slim pickings in the Delta Quadrant doesn't mean that every woman that comes on board is right for you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Forget it Harry, forget I said anything."

Be'lanna laughed, "He means you'll jump at anything in heels."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

They both stared in odd fascination at the smoking, blackened beef. "Well it seems that I know as much about replicators as you know about cooking." Solaria laughed.

Seven felt better immediately. Perhaps this was what the others referred to as humor? She smiled at the truthfulness of Solaria's remarks.

"You really should do that more often."

"I should burn food frequently?" Seven wore a puzzled expression.

Six laughed at the woman's bluntness. "No, you should smile. You have a beautiful smile," she said in earnest, her features softening as she did so.

Seven noted the way that her heart rate increased at the look Solaria was directing her, "Shall we continue our meal in the mess hall?"

The Cylon frowned; she wanted to have Seven all to herself. "No. How about we just replicate something that is already prepared instead of trying to put the ingredients together and do it ourselves? We can do that, right?"

Seven tilted her head as she considered her suggestion. "That would be acceptable. Do you have any suggestions?"

"I thought you would." Solaria wore a puzzled expression. There was a silence as both women stared at each other blankly. "What do you normally like to eat, Seven?"

"I prefer to consume my nutritional supplements."

Solaria immediately associated Seven's nutritional supplements with the word 'bland'. She imagined it would taste similar to the organic goo she had frequently consumed on base stars. "But what kind of _food_ do you like to eat?

"I do not consume solids."

"But you can still eat them, right?"

"Yes, but I find it to be...more time consuming and less efficient."

Six fought the urge to roll her eyes. Some how it came to no surprise that her companion, who had been living among humans for nearly two years, had never bothered to eat real food. She smiled encouragingly at Seven, "This isn't about efficiency, Seven. This is about fun!"

Seven stared at her blankly. "I fail to understand how the consumption of nutritional elements can serve as a form of entertainment. Explain."

Six laughed at the seriousness of her companion's request. "I'll show you instead." The Cylon had a look of determination on her features. "Computer, what are the top five most popular food selections among the crew?"

The monotone voice of the computer calmly replied, "Pepperoni pizza, cheeseburgers, french fries, assorted ice creams, and alcoholic beverages."

Solaria said, "OOo, lets have that!"

Seven shifted from being confused to down right uncomfortable. "That is a large quantity of food for two individuals of our weight and body mass."

"Well what we don't eat we can just recycle, right?"

"That is correct."

"Then lets do it."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

An hour and a half later...

"Mmmm. This is really good. I like this better than the burger," Six beamed as she scarfed down a slice of what the computer had referred to as 'pizza'. She was seated on a medium sized, blue Starfleet issue couch next to Seven. The coffee table in front of them was covered with empty plates, napkins, and a soon-to-be empty pizza box.

Seven took a cautious bite, "Indeed. If Mr. Neelix's cooking was this adequate I would try eating on a more frequent basis."

Solaria laughed loudly. A little louder than she intended.

Seven noticed her response, "You are intoxicated."

Solaria laughed again. "I am not." She reached down and clumsily felt around near the foot of the couch until she felt a bottle. She picked it up and glanced at the label: Beer. "You didn't like these much, did you Sevem?" The Cylon slurred a little.

"I prefer not to consume alcoholic beverages- they make me feel ill."

The Cylon pouted at Seven comically as she reached out and stroked her face, "Aw, poor baby."

Seven flinched a little under the unexpected contact and blushed. She eyed Solaria curiously. Realizing her forwardness, she withdrew her hand slowly, "I'm sorry if I offended you." Six shifted so that she was farther away from Seven.

"You did not offend me, Solaria." Seven monotoned, hiding the fact that she did miss the contact.

The Cylon cleared her throat and decided to keep the conversation in more comfortable territory. "If Seven is your 'designation', do you have another name?"

"Annika Hansen is my human name."

"I think its a nice name," Six smiled. "But you don't like to use it?"

"Even though I was severed from the Collective and have become an individual, I do not feel comfortable using my human designation. I am no longer that person."

Six smiled, "I suppose I can understand. Although I must confess that even though Solaria feels foreign to me I'm beginning to like having my own name."

A look of surprise flashed across Seven's face, "Solaria is not your real name?"

The Cylon chided herself mentally. Maybe she shouldn't have had so much to drink if it was going to make her so talkative. "Before I came to Voyager I would have been called Six. Its my model number. All the other Sixes look exactly like me. We don't usually take names or emphasize individuality for that matter. You aren't a 'you', you're a 'six', or an 'eight', or whatever your model is," She winked at the other woman, "I thought you were a '_Seven_'."

Then she continued to explain, "The only Cylons that use names are either famous, leaders, or spies." The Cylon rambled resentfully, "Unfortunately in a society where individuality is typically frowned upon, being famous is often equated with leadership ability."

Six thought back to her time spent on Caprica while the occupation was in full swing. She remembered standing in a busy town square as she and many other Cylons, mostly Sixes and Eights, attended a speech where an eight called Boomer and a Six called Caprica spoke out against the occupation. They talked about peace and love; concepts that most Cylon's were unable to understand because they'd never felt love. They rallied other Cylons into thinking that they needed to follow the human fleet and live in peace with them.

Solaria didn't know whether or not she agreed with them at the time, but anything had to be better than getting blown up or shot by the resistance every few days. Solaria often resented Caprica Six and Boomer. They enjoyed their celebrity because of their infiltration, but they had only experienced one resurrection, not to mention all the little luxuries that came with being human and individual.

It was Cylons such as herself that had to do the real leg work, the dirty work of the occupation. Countless times she had walked the streets and forests of a recently nuked Caprica searching for human survivors. Her white overcoat and bright blond hair a sharp contrast to her black slacks and boots. Whoever thought that a white overcoat was a good choice for combat gear was either blind, stupid, or a Three. They always had a way of dressing inappropriately, wearing scarves and coats while everyone else was in tank tops. Not to mention their affinity with the color white; she was sure it had something to do with God. Solaria couldn't even remember the last time she saw a Three engage in real combat. They were good at barking orders, lecturing about God, and sitting on their high and mighty asses. It was the Fives, Sixes, and Eights that suffered the highest casualty counts and resurrection rates.

Seven observed the sudden shift in the Cylon's behavior. What had started out as friendly banter had brought up some negative memories for Solaria. She was deep in thought as she took a swig of her beer and stared absently at the table. She eventually laughed to herself and muttered, "Frakkers."

"Solaria?" Seven asked, concern creeping into her voice. The Cylon didn't respond so she tried again, "Six?"

That seemed to get her attention. "Yes?" Six refocused her attention on Seven.

"You are upset."

"No, I just thought of something is all." Six stared at her hands as she wondered how to lift the mood.

"Why Solaria?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you select Solaria for a designation?"

Six shrugged, "When the Captain asked it was the first thing that came to mind. There was a Colonial Battlestar...a warship named _Solaria_. I was part of the team that assaulted it. I managed to board it. Then I decompressed it."

"You survived this event?" Seven was unable to keep the surprise from her voice.

Six smiled sadly, "No. It was my first death and resurrection." Six looked at her hands. "It was... jarring."

"You resurrect?"

"When a Cylon's body is destroyed our consciousness downloads into another identical one." Solaria cleared her throat, "We retain all our memories."

"Do you ever feel guilty?"

"About what?" Six asked.

"About the things you did when you were at war."

"Sometimes."

"The crew often blames me for my actions as a drone. I helped assimilate millions of individuals."

"Yea, Seven, but you didn't have free will. What's my excuse? There were approximately three thousand people on board the Solaria and I blew them all out in to space. Who was controlling me? Hell, I can't even begin to count them." Six looked down at her hands. "Promise you won't tell anyone about that."

Seven watched Solaria keenly. "I will not mention this information to anyone."

"Thanks." Six smiled. Feeling an overwhelming need to touch Seven, she tried to think of a suitable excuse. "Can I touch your hand, the one with the metallic implant?"

Seven was taken aback, even if it didn't entirely show on her face. She cleared her throat nervously. "If you want to."

Solaria moved closer to her and reached across her lap and grabbed her hand. She ran her fingers across the smooth metal casing. She marveled at how warm and soft the material was. Seven unconsciously leaned into her touch.

Solaria looked Seven in the eye. "It doesn't feel the way that I thought it would." Six intertwined her fingers with the Cylon's. "You're very beautiful, Seven." Solaria said through half-lidded eyes as she slowly leaned into Seven, catching her lips with her own. Seven sat still and allowed Solaria to kiss her. She observed a sudden increase in her own temperature and heart rate, all signs that indicated arousal. She reveled in the warmth of Six's mouth against her own. She felt Solaria flick her tongue against her mouth, gently requesting access. Seven slowly opened her mouth and allowed her tongue entry.

Taking Seven's response as her queue, Six gently pushed Seven back against the couch and proceeded to straddle her. Feeling Seven tense, Solaria stopped and gently grabbed the Borg's face with her hands, "Is everything okay?"

Seven thought for a moment before nodding seriously, "Yes."

Six smiled and recaptured the womans lips in her own. This time she slowly kissed her way across her face and down to her neck. The Cylon carefully felt behind Seven's neck until she found the zipper to her bio suit. She pulled it open and moved her hands along the Borg's back. Seven froze when she felt Solaria touch the bands of her abdominal implant. Solaria stopped again. "Do you want me to stop?"

Seven felt embarrassed. "Yes, please." Solaria released a frustrated breath that she'd been holding in as she moved off of Seven. "I am sorry." Seven apologized as she blushed bright red. She didn't want anyone to see her implants, especially Solaria whose opinion she valued immensely. She couldn't bare the thought of Solaria recoiling in disgust at the hideousness of her borg implants.

She smiled encouragingly at Seven. "You don't have to apologize, Seven. If you're not ready then its just not time yet. We can go slower."

Seven looked longingly at the door. Sweet escape. "I should return to my alcove to regenerate." She said as she popped up from her seat, trying to compose herself.

Six stood up and grabbed her arm, "Wait." The tall drone stopped in her tracks. "Stay with me tonight."

Seven became confused, "You still wish to copulate with me?"

"Well yes, I mean no. I mean I just want you to spend the night." Six quickly explained herself. "I don't want to be alone."

Seven relaxed visibly and allowed the other woman to lead her into the bedroom. Solaria tossed off her shoes and climbed onto the bed on top the covers. She patted the other side and motioned for Seven to come over. Seven hesitantly moved to the edge of the bed and following Solaria's example, removed her shoes and laid down beside the Cylon. Realizing how uncomfortable her companion was, Solaria simply wrapped her arms around her, and proceeded to rapidly nod off.

"Good night, Seven." Solaria mumbled as sleep took her.

Seven waited until Solaria had fallen asleep before peeling her arm off and quietly heading towards the door. The evening had far too many new sensations for Seven and she needed time to process them.

The next morning, Solaria woke up with a start. She was disappointed when she realized that Seven had left, but she wasn't surprised. What did surprise her is that the other woman had stayed for as long as she did.

"Computer, lights up." She sat up and yawned as the lights came on. Then she proceeded to groggily head towards the bathroom to have a shower and replicate some fresh clothes. She selected a black halter top, and a black pair of slacks.

Remembering that she was supposed to meet the captain she headed to what they referred to as her 'ready room'. Ready for what, she wasn't certain.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

The Captain had just sat down behind her desk when she heard the door chime. "Come in."

The doors swished opened to admit the svelte form of Solaria. At first glance the Captain almost mistook her for Seven. "Good morning, Captain."

"Six, its good to see you. Have a seat." The blond woman sat down across from the Captain. "Would you like something to drink? Some coffee?"

"No, thank you."

"Well I've taken a look at the crew schedules and I have a number of openings. We especially need help in sickbay. The Doctor could always use an assistant. At the moment my helmsman has been helping out part time."

Solaria cringed internally at being trapped in sickbay with the ships EMH program. Even though she'd had limited interactions with the Doctor, it hadn't taken her long to realize that he could be quite irritating at times.

"I'm not sure if I'd have the stomach for it. I can't handle the sight of blood," she lied easily. Lying was one of the primary functions of her model. Anything she might see in Sickbay would pale in comparison to the horrors she'd witnessed, or even committed, during the war.

"So do you have any thoughts about where you'd like to be assigned?" The Captain asked.

"I think I'd be good in astrometrics." The Cylon smiled as she thought of Seven.

The Captain wasn't really surprised with her request. The crew was already discussing how much time the newest addition of the crew had been spending with Seven of Nine. "Any particular reason?" Janeway prodded.

"Actually yes. As a Cylon I have the ability to recognize star patterns and charts."

Kathryn's eyes widened slightly. It took the computer hours of scanning to distinguish between distant star patterns let alone one person. "With the naked eye?"

"Yes."

"I also considered engineering; but I'm still familiarizing myself with Voyager's technology so astrometrics just seemed like a more logical choice for now.

"Hmm." The captain wasn't expecting that. "Well I don't see why we can't start you out there." She continued, "Seven, is in charge of astrometrics." Solaria nodded in response. "I take it the two of you have been getting along?"

"Yes, I enjoy Seven's company."

"I'm glad to hear it. She needs more friends." The Captain resisted the urge to add 'her own age' to the end of that sentence.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Seven tapped away at her console in astrometrics. Seven had spent the better part of the morning mulling over everything that had happened with Solaria the previous night. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop thinking about how Six felt when she touched her. How she tasted. How she smelled. It was infuriating in a way she had never experienced before. Then Seven found herself doing something she'd never done before.

She swore.

"Damn it!" The tall drone immediately experienced shame and surprise at her lack of self control, but she also experienced satisfaction. Perhaps this was why B'ellana Torres shouted obscenities so frequently. Seven leaned over her console slightly and took in a deep breath. After feeling a slight tap on her shoulder she spun around and was surprised to see the source of her frustration standing before her.

"Seven, are you alright?" Solaria was genuinely concerned. She'd never seen the drone upset.

Seven collected herself, "I am...fine. I did not hear you come in."

Six raised a skeptical eyebrow, but accepted her answer. "Well guess what!"

Seven was confused at Six's phrasing. Realizing that Seven didn't understand the expression she continued, "I've been assigned to astrometrics." She smiled happily.

Seven's eyes widened with surprise as she realized that it would now be impossible for her to stop thinking about the other woman. Her presence could only be described as inefficient at best. Not wanting to offend her new friend she monotoned a phrase she'd learned from her social lessons with the Doctor, "Then I look forward to our working together." And on some level she did.

"Seven..." Six was disappointed, "If you don't want me here then I can just talk to the Captain-"

Seven blanched at the idea of explaining to the Captain why they couldn't work together. "That is unnecessary. I will adapt." Seven turned back to her console and tried to look as busy as possible. Anything for an excuse to avoid eye contact.

"Are you sure?"

"I am quite 'sure'." Solaria had been spending enough time with Seven to recognize her subtle moods. Even through Seven's borg monotone Solaria was able to pick up on a hint of irritation.

She was really concerned now, "Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?" Seven monotoned, staring at her console as though she were trying to bore a hole in it with her eyes.

Now Solaria was getting annoyed too. The Cylon rolled her eyes, "Well you're obviously not excited about me being here." Solaria mentally berated herself for not realizing that Seven might feel awkward about the arrangement after their recent nocturnal activities.

"I do not feel excitement." Seven replied haughtily. "I am Borg."

"Yea, well you were feeling something last night." Solaria said smartly. That got the drone's attention and she turned to look at Solaria with surprise. The Cylon took a deep breath. This wasn't going as well as she'd expected. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that and I didn't mean to upset you yesterday, if that's what I did-"

Finally finding the means to express herself, Seven cut her off, "No. You did not 'upset' me, Solaria." She let out an uncharacteristically frustrated sigh, "I do not know what to say. I am unclear on the proper protocol for this type of relationship... I am unsure how to proceed with you."

Six smiled. "Lets just see where things take us. Okay?"

Seven allowed herself a slight smile, "That would be acceptable."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Two weeks later...

Seven looked over Six's shoulder as she operated a console in astrometrics. Solaria smiled when she felt Seven hovering. She liked it when Seven hovered. "Yes?" she asked playfully as she turned around to face the former drone.

Seven straightened up, "You are adapting to Voyager's technology much faster than I anticipated." Seven had spent the better part of the day analyzing her sudden, albeit irrational compulsions to say nice things to Six.

"Wow. Did I just impress the Borg?"

The drone appeared thoughtful. "Perhaps."

"How about we have dinner in my quarters?" Her question sounded innocent enough, but it was obvious that dinner was not the only thing she had in mind.

Seven fidgeted uncomfortably as her face became infused with heat, "I was going to go over some schematics for an engineering project. But I think I can reschedule."

The Cylon chuckled and rolled her eyes. She turned away from Seven as she continued to work at the console. "I just don't understand you people." She whined, "You work all the time. You work almost _every_ day! Where I come from we hardly work at all when we're in space. Our ships maintain themselves."

"How is that possible?"

"They're cybernetic."

"Approximately 48.92 percent of the components on Borg cubes is cybernetic and self sustaining; however, there is still the need for manual maintenance. Surely there is some maintenance required on Cylon vessels?" Seven asked seriously.

"Not really."

"Intriguing." They were quiet for several minutes as they both considered what to say to the other.

Despite their previous conversation their chemistry wasn't quite the same. Now most of their attempts at communication were either flirtatious or uncomfortable and strained. Seven now understood that what they were experiencing was often referred to as 'sexual tension'. Seven's assimilated knowledge of sexuality told her that the preferred option to alleviate said tension would be...

"Solaria, I would like to join you in your quarters."

The Cylon stared at her blankly for a moment, surprised at the abruptness of her request. "Um, what?"

"I wish to join you in your quarters so that we may engage in sexual intercourse."

The Cylon's eyes widened with shock and confusion. "Now? Like right now?"

Seven replied confidently, "I am aroused. And based on your increased temperature and heart rate I have come to the conclusion that you are aroused as well." The drone hesitated slightly, perhaps she had erred in her assumption, "Would now be a... 'bad time'?"

"No! No now would be...I mean I want to, but-" Six might have completed that thought if Seven hadn't picked that moment to grab her and kiss her senseless. The Cylon wasn't sure how long they had been kissing, but her brain was telling her that she needed to breathe. "Seven," Solaria said through ragged breaths. The drone allowed her passion to get the best of her and she proceeded to kiss the Cylon showing no indication of letting up. Seven pushed her against the console and Six shifted so that she was sitting on it. They continued to kiss passionately and Solaria wrapped her legs around Seven's waist and pulled her in even closer. It wasn't long before Six felt Seven snake a hand up her shirt, eliciting a moan.

At some point Six heard a swishing sound, which promptly reminded her that they were still in astrometrics. Solaria and Seven froze when they heard a startled gasp from behind them.

Captain Janeway stood just inside the doorway to astrometrics with her mouth agape in a way that was reminiscent to that of a fish. They pulled apart and quickly composed themselves.

Seven calmly observed the intruder, "Captain."

The Captain opened and closed her mouth several times before finally finding her voice again. Then the Captain grumbled in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Both of you will accompany me to my ready room. Now!"

TBC...

Comments are welcome. ;-)


	3. Part 3

Fandom: Battlestar Galactica / Star Trek Voyager crossover

Pairing: Seven of Nine/Six

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

Summary: Circumstances bring a Cylon to Voyager. How will she adapt? AU all the way.

A/N: I would have posted this ages ago... blame my PS3. *hugs PS3* Reviews are welcome.

**A Tale of Two Sixes**

by Semerket

PART 3

The walk to the Captain's ready room had been silent and tense. It was obvious that the shorter woman was extremely angry. Solaria glanced at Seven worriedly, but the former drone didn't seem fazed by the situation. Solaria had a feeling that Seven spent a lot of time being punished. Six smiled; she never imagined that Seven might be the 'bad girl' type.

Captain Janeway moved to the other side of her desk and sat down in her chair. She scrutinized both of the women and huffed irritably, "Can one of you tell me exactly what you thought you were doing?"

Seven answered readily, "We were engaging in a same sex mating ritual." She would have thought that much was obvious. "I believe that Voyager's database would define our actions as 'foreplay'. I fondled Solaria's breasts approximately 4.7 times." Seven sounded a little excited at the last part. Six blushed and hung her head in embarrassment.

Captain Janeway resisted the urge to smack herself on the head. She should have known that Seven would've answered that question as literally as possible.

"Do you understand why your actions were inappropriate?" Kathryn directed the question at no one in particular. Seven met her gaze defiantly, while Solaria studied her shoes. Kathryn sighed. "Look, I don't make it a habit of involving myself in the personal lives of my crew, but I can't tolerate this kind of misconduct on my ship. What the two of you do in your own time when you're both off duty is your business. But not only were you engaging in misconduct during both your shifts, but you were in astrometrics of all places. Anyone could've walked in on you!"

Seven sounded flippant, "That is correct."

Kathryn glared at her, she wasn't accustomed to Seven showing that much emotion or open defiance. "What if Naomi had walked in?" Kathryn mentioned the only child on Voyager.

The tall drone hesitated at that. "Naomi would have been with Neelix at that time, there was a less than 13% probability that she would come to visit me during that particular hour."

"That is not the point, Seven, and you know it."

Solaria hadn't wanted to do much talking, but Seven's goal was obviously not to make this meeting as short and smooth as possible. So she cut in, "Captain, can I say something?"

"Please do, Six." The Captain now focused her annoyance on Voyager's newest crew member. She'd been on Voyager for barely three months and she was already involved in an incident. Kathryn hoped this wouldn't become a pattern.

"I just wanted to," Solaria shot Seven a look, "Seven and I just wanted to apologize to you and to say that this will never happen again. Ever." Six suddenly wished that she'd been prepped for infiltration more. It was always taxing when she had to force herself to be charming and she certainly wasn't the most eloquent of Cylons.

"You're absolutely right. This won't ever happen again and to make sure of it I'm reassigning you to engineering. You will report to Lt. Torres at the beginning of your shift tomorrow. Since your shifts have less than an hour left you will return to your quarters. You are both dismissed."

Solaria's eyes widened, "But-"

"You've both demonstrated that your self control is horribly lacking; therefore, I will remove the temptation for you. Now get out of my ready room."

Both blonds turned and left. Seven watched Solaria as they made their way to the bridge turbo lift. She realized she was now experiencing guilt; she should have handled that situation better. As soon as the doors to the turbolift closed Seven mumbled uncharacteristically, "I am sorry, Solaria."

Six sighed, "Oh, its not your fault, Seven. Deck four." The last part she directed at the turbo lift.

Seven swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "But I initiated the contact-"

"And I returned it." Solaria cut her off. "Maybe it is for the best if we work separately. I'd probably just be a distraction for you."

"Not an unwelcome one." Seven said, her voice taking on a husky quality.

Solaria laughed, "You are so bad! You knew _exactly_ what she meant!"

Seven monotoned, "I have learned over the years that the best way to avoid serious discussions with the Captain is to make her uncomfortable. She has always been exceptionally uncomfortable with issues pertaining to sexuality. When I am being reprimanded she often ends the censure prematurely just to get rid of me. I have always found these moments amusing and satisfying."

"I can see why." Solaria muttered under her breath, "Sneaky."

Seven's borg enhanced hearing picked it up very easily and she smiled at the Cylon. "Since we are not required to return to duty until tomorrow, perhaps we should have dinner now."

Six quirked an eyebrow in a very Seven-like way. "Okay, but lets wait till we get to my quarters this time, okay?"

"I will comply."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

The journey from Solaria's door to her bed had been a blur. Six vaguely recalled barely making it through the front door before Seven's lips were on hers. Together they focused on discarding Six's clothing on the way to her room only to be haphazardly tossed onto the bed by an ever eager Seven of Nine. The Cylon's senses felt as though they were on overload and judging by her companion's overzealousness she knew she was feeling the same way. This was new to both of them and she needed more time to process what she was feeling.

"Seven?" Solaria said in between kisses. "Seven stop."

The former drone stopped her ministrations and looked down at the Cylon. "Am I hurting you?" Seven asked fearfully.

Six smiled lovingly, "No, I just think we should go a little slower, don't you?"

"Slower? Explain."

"Yea, you're clothes are still on so..."

"Oh!" Seven mumbled in surprise as she realized her companion was nude and she was still fully clothed.

Solaria laughed thinking that Seven was absolutely adorable in that moment. She giggled as Seven used her borg enhanced strength to rip her biosuit off. Seven quickly lowered herself back down on the Cylon. She knew she wouldn't be stopped this time.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Six awoke to the sound of her alarm going off. She took a few moments to recall the previous night and all the new and wonderful sensations it had elicited. She noted that her body was deliciously sore from their exertions. She propped herself up on her left arm and leaned over her lover. The drone had fallen asleep facing away from her, but she could tell by her slow rhythmic breathing that she was still fast asleep. Not wanting to wake her by getting up, the Cylon began to project. She allowed the stark gray walls of Voyager to give way to a lush green forest filled with warm sunshine.

Today would be a good day.

A few minutes later she felt Seven stir. The other woman awoke with a start; she rolled over and gazed up at Six. "I fell asleep?" The woman asked in awe.

"Yep."

Seven smiled at that, last night was full of firsts. Then she noticed her surroundings. "Wait. Where are we? We're on the holodeck!"

Six looked at her quizzically, "You can see it?"

Seven stared at Solaria incredulously, "It appears as though we're in some kind of forest."

"We call it projection." Seven arched an eyebrow indicating that Six should elaborate. "Its how we Cylons can choose to see the world around us. Its a kind of self-induced, controlled hallucination. Or I suppose a human might describe it as having a _really_ powerful imagination."

Seven's inner scientist found the phenomenon extremely interesting. Seven climbed out of bed and tried to touch the walls, but they didn't feel like trees. They felt like walls. Seven turned around when she heard Solaria laughing at her expense. "Seven its not real! You look really funny feeling the wall up with no clothes on!"

Seven turned around to face the Cylon taking her typical stance she clasped her hands behind her back and lifted an eyebrow, "I will return momentarily." Solaria watched as she marched out of the bedroom. Returning a few moments later, Seven flipped open a tricorder and proceeded to scan Six and everything else in the room. "Can you see other things?"

"I can see anything I want... and by the way, you look pretty ridiculous doing that with no clothes on."

Seven smirked and used a phrase she had heard Tom Paris use on occasion. "You know you like it."

Solaria giggled and focused on projecting a beach. Seven watched in fascination as the forest melted away into a beach at sunset. She could hear the sounds of gulls and waves crashing against the shore. She could even smell the sea. "Incredible."

"Like what you see?"

"Indeed I do," Seven said as she drank in the sight of Solaria lying naked on said beach. It was all perfectly romantic.

Solaria furrowed her brow, "But what I don't understand is how you can see it too. Only other Cylons can share projections and we would have to be touching to do it. So how are you receiving it remotely?" Now Solaria was curious as well.

"It is my cortical node. It is specifically designed to interface with the Collective from great distances. Although our cybernetic physiology is quite different, I would hypothesize that the way our bodies process information combined with our recent intimacy has resulted in some kind of link."

"But you said you could hear the Collective's thoughts. You can't hear mine."

"True, but you are not Borg. We share enough similarities that we are partially compatible in this way. I'm sure the doctor will find this very intriguing. I wonder if he would be able to see your projections. If so, then perhaps it is a kind of photonic energy that your brain..."

Solaria leaned in and kissed Seven. They pulled apart slowly. "Lets just enjoy it and not over analyze it, okay?"

Seven mumbled, "Okay."

Six sighed as she heard the snooze alarm chiming to let her know that she had less than an hour to get ready for work. "I have to be in engineering today, but will I see you again tonight?"

Seven looked a little sad, "I must regenerate in my alcove tonight. But tomorrow would be acceptable."

"Alright."

"Solaria?" Seven said thoughtfully, "Be careful in engineering. Lt. Torres can be quite a..."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

"Bitch! Damn it!" Be'lanna Torres swore animatedly at a console.

Six straightened out her civilian uniform as she entered Engineering. Her eyes scanned the room until they focused on the Chief Engineer. She approached her with some apprehension; Lt. Torres looked angry today, angrier than usual anyway.

"What did I tell you?" B'Elanna snapped at a crewman. "How many times do I have to go through this?" Six watched as the crewman shrank away from the Lieutenant's legendary temper.

B'Elanna stopped her tirade when she noticed the Cylon. "Yes?" She asked testily.

"Six reporting for duty, ma'am." Six tried to stay within the formalities of Voyager's hierarchy.

B'Elanna remembered, "Oh yea, I did get a memo about that. I thought you were going to be working in astrometrics?" The lieutenant prodded.

Six replied sheepishly, "I did too, but things didn't really work out."

Torres laughed suddenly, "Seven too much for ya?"

Six smiled and blushed, "In a manner of speaking."

"Since this is your first day we need to get you familiarized with Voyager's systems, but from what the Captain told me you already have some understanding of our propulsion system, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well why don't we get you started then...there's a panel on the other side of the room that needs fixing. The conduits keep blowing out. Crewmen Levin is already working on it, but it'll go faster if he has some help," Lieutenant Torres rolled her eyes at the last part. "Its not exactly brain surgery and since you've already been prepped for astrometrics you should be able to handle it." Be'lanna handed her a toolbox and a data pad. "I'll have something else for you when you're done with that."

"Yes, Lieutenant." Six headed over to where a young man in a black and gold uniform was seated on the floor. He'd already pulled the grid off the panel and judging by his facial expression he was not happy with his current progress. "Crewman Levin?" Six asked.

He stared at Six expectantly, she quickly explained, "Lt. Torres requested that I assist you."

His eyes suddenly flashed with anger, "What? Torres thinks I can't handle it? I make one mistake and suddenly I'm the pariah that nobody wants to work with, like I'm gonna blow up the whole damn ship or something!" After his tirade he studied her a little more closely.

"Oh, you're that new girl," he laughed incredulously. "Do you even know anything about warp technology? You know some of us actually had to receive special training to do this. That stupid drone is the only exception because of all the information she stole with the Borg, but everyone else has to go through extensive training _years_ before they even get to see an engine room." Six bristled at the insult to Seven. She didn't like this crewman at all. "So how is it that you can come from out of nowhere, and from what I heard, off a ship that didn't even have shield technology, and you get to just waltz in here like you own the place?"

Solaria certainly wasn't expecting his crappy attitude, but she'd be kidding herself if she pretended she wasn't used to it. Now this was the kind of human she was used to dealing with. No wonder Seven despised engineering. Everyone from the Chief down seemed to have a stick up their ass.

Solaria wasn't sure what to say so she decided to just be friendly and try to make it work. After this it was Sickbay- and she knew she did _not_ want to work in Sickbay. "The Lieutenant didn't say anything that implied you weren't up to the task. She just said it might go faster if someone worked with you."

He laughed sarcastically, "Yea right." He motioned at some wiring. "You can fix those since I'm not capable enough." He huffed as he turned around and went back to working on the conduit.

Solaria sighed and sat down at the opposite end of the panel so that she was as far away from him as possible. She opened up her tricorder and proceeded to scan the conduit in question, but it was obvious to the naked eye what the problem was. Maybe there was something to his whining; if he couldn't figure this out then she could see why Be'lanna stuck him in the corner. She steeled herself as she realized she would have to talk to him again.

"Have you already cut power to the auxiliary conduits?"

"Of course I did! I wasn't born yesterday."

She didn't roll her eyes, but her tone indicated that she wanted to, "I didn't say that you were."

"Then why are you asking?" He huffed.

"Because my tricorder is telling me that the power is still active."

"Then you're probably reading it wrong."

Solaria didn't have time for this crap. Solaria pushed Crewman Levin's hand away from the command console and in one deft movement she inserted the appropriate commands. The computer responded, "Powering down."

Solaria pulled her tricorder back out. Once she had confirmed that the power level had sufficiently depleted, she replaced the conduits that had suffered from electrical damage. Now it was just a matter of repairing the rest of the panel. She glanced at Crewman Levin, he was seething, but whether it was with rage or embarrassment, Solaria couldn't tell.

"You have no right to-"

"You told me the power was off!" Now Six was angry, "I could have been electrocuted, you idiot. Torres gives you this simple task- one that even an outsider such as myself can figure out, and you still can't handle it. But you have the nerve to give me a hard time about it?"

The young man grumbled, "Well if you're so damn smart then you fix it."

"I was planning on doing that anyway." Six looked him squarely in the eye. Crewman Levin crossed him arms and moved away from the other end of the panel. Solaria moved in for a closer look and pulled out her tricorder. "No wonder this isn't working- these aren't the right size." She motioned to several different smaller conduits. Six looked down at her toolbox. She could tell that she would need a different tool. She turned to Crewman Levin, "Why don't you make yourself useful and get me the tool I need."

Levin handed her what she learned was a spanner. A few minutes into her repairs the Crewman scoffed at her, "You can get them out faster if you just do this." He keyed something into the command console, but before Six could pull away she was hit with a power surge. She dropped the spanner and jerked her left hand away violently as she felt the current burning her flesh. She stood up and gave Crewman Levin her best 'destroy all humans' look. Using her good hand she grabbed his neck and lifted him several inches off the floor, her actions quickly gaining the attention of other people in engineering.

"If you ever try anything like that again, I'll kill you." Six growled in a ferocity that indicated she meant it. And by the terrified look on the crewman's face as he gasped for air he knew she meant it as well.

"What the hell is going on here!" Six heard Lt. Torres bark them. She was nearly as shocked as Crewman Levin when she saw that he was being held off of the floor, especially with one slender arm. Who was this woman? "Six, put him down now!"

Six cocked her head in the direction of B'Elanna and considered what she was saying. She also considered squeezing his neck until she felt it crack; he wouldn't have been the first human to have succumbed to such a fate. Fortunately, she allowed the better part of herself to take over and she dropped him, causing him to tumble onto his backside. If the situation weren't so serious B'Elanna would have laughed. Now she understood why Six and Seven got along so well.

Solaria cradled her hand as she faced the engineer. Crewman Levin cowered against a wall as he gasped for air.

B'Elanna announced, "Security is on the way." Seeing Six's hand B'Elanna looked back and forth between Six and Levin, she asked angrily, "What the hell happened here?" B'Elanna sighed exasperatedly, "You know what? I don't want to hear it. Head to sick bay immediately- I'll read about in the security report."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

"When I approached crewman Levin about repairing the conduit he was combative. I proceeded to repair a section of the panel and I asked him if the power was off. He said that it was. My tricorder indicated that the power was still on. I shut the power off myself and I changed the burned-out conduits. Crewman Levin continued to be uncooperative so I continued to work on the rest of the panel. While I was in the middle of removing a small conduit crewman Levin inputted a command that reactivated the power and I was hit with a power surge."

The Doctor worked on repairing her mangled hand with a dermal regenerator while she related the events in engineering to the chief of security, Tuvok; his serious Vulcan demeanor was reminiscent to that of Seven's.

"And this is what motivated you to strangle and threaten Crewmen Levin?" Tuvok replied placidly as he made notes on his data pad to include in his report.

Six was really tired of answering his questions, but she understood the that he was just doing his job. "Well he did turn my hand into pasta."

The Doctor piped up, "You did quite a number on Mr. Levin- a little harder and his neck would have been crushed." The doctor watched her with concern, "It really is incredible that you were able to survive a surge of this magnitude. Anyone else would've been killed instantly, except maybe Seven..."

"Indeed." Tuvok solemnly agreed. "I will prepare my security report for the Captain and Lieutenant Torres. In the meantime you will be excused from duty for the rest of the afternoon."

"Thank you, Commander." Six said tiredly. Tuvok excused himself and exited Sickbay, leaving her alone for a while with the ship's EMH.

The Doctor picked up on her fatigue, "I'm just finishing up now." There was a hiss as he pressed a hypospray to her neck. "Good as new."

Not long after he'd spoken, the doors to Sickbay swished opened and a concerned Seven of Nine locked eyes with Six. The tall drone immediately made her way over to the Cylon. Six was surprised to see Seven in Sickbay.

"I overheard someone mention that you had been injured." Seven said with thinly veiled distress in her voice. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine. I've had worse." She smiled at Seven, "So how are you today, Seven?"

Seven of Nine arched an elegant eyebrow and cocked her head slightly, "I'm not the one that had to go to Sickbay. What happened in engineering?"

Six shook her head, "I'll tell you about it later."

Seven accepted her evasion as an indication that she wanted to wait until the Doctor was out of earshot."That would be acceptable," Seven replied as she eyed the Doctor. The former drone looked back and forth between the Doctor and Six until she had them both watching her with questioning eyes.

The Doctor spoke up, "Is everything alright, Seven?" Seven could see the same question mark in Six's eyes.

"Solaria, perhaps we should see if the Doctor will be affected by your projections?"

The Doctor was obviously confused as he looked back and forth between both women. "What are you talking about?"

"Six has the ability to induce a self hypnotic state-"

Solaria cut her off, "Seven, lets see if he can see it before we try to explain it, okay?"

"Acceptable."

"See what?" The Doctor asked, feeling a little paranoid at their cryptic conversation.

Six visualized the same forest that she had projected earlier when she was with Seven. Seven observed again, displaying the similar amazement that she expressed the first time she saw it. Seven addressed the Doctor and quirked an eyebrow, "Do you see it?"

"I don't see anything. I don't know what you're talking about," the Doctor said earnestly. He pulled out a tricorder and began scanning the two women; he was checking to see if they were delusional or hallucinating. "Six's brain activity has increased by seventy two percent," He said, surprise evident in his tone. He scanned Seven, "I'm noticing an increase in your activity as well. Are your people telepathic, Six?"

Six let out a breath she'd been holding in; these people had to over analyze everything. "Try taking my hand." She held out her hand encouragingly. He hesitantly took it. He was surprised that she would ask him to touch her; he didn't come into physical contact with the crew unless he was providing medical treatment.

He glanced around, "What is it I'm supposed to be seeing exactly?"

"Just give it a second."

The Doctor was becoming annoyed now, "I'm not a biological organism the way that you two are. Did it ever occur to you that maybe I need to have a biological brain in order to see-" The doctor stopped mid sentence and his mouth dropped open.

Solaria chuckled, "So then you can see it?"

"Its... I'm in a forest!" The Doctor glanced around. "Is this some sort of holographic technology? How are we doing this?" He beamed excitedly.

Seven picked up the tricorder and performed a scan of the Doctor- she turned it so that he could see the results. "Incredible!" He addressed Seven, "How are you seeing this if you aren't in physical contact?"

"My cortical node allows for a remote link, but range is also a factor. The link could have been initiated by frequent physical contact." The Doctor was too excited to catch the meaning of Seven's last words.

"I'll be studying this for days!" In his excitement he let go of Six's hand and almost seemed crestfallen when the projection disappeared.

As much as Six would have loved to watch Seven and the Doctor have a nerd fest over cylon physiology, she was tired both physically and mentally after her ordeal in engineering, and wanted nothing more than a hot bath and a nap. She shut down her projection and stood up. "Well if its no longer necessary for me to remain in sickbay I'm going to head to my quarters."

"Yes of course. You are free to leave. I recommend you get something to eat and then rest for the remainder of the evening."

Six stared at Seven expectantly. "Coming, Seven?"

Seven seemed a little surprised at her question, she had been looking forward to going over the data with the ship's Doctor. He would appreciate the scientific significance much more than Solaria would. Seven was about to say 'no' when she caught the look in Solaria's eyes; she could tell she'd be angry if she declined to go with her.

"I will comply."

The doctor was so interested in his data that he hardly noticed them as they left.

The duo walked down the corridor in a tense silence that lasted several minutes. Seven wasn't sure what was bothering the other woman, but something told her not to say anything. Solaria finally broke the silence, "Thanks a lot, Seven. Now he'll want me to hold his hand all the time!"

Seven raised an eyebrow as she listened to her lover complain. "I doubt he would want to hold your hand 'all the time.' It would be rather difficult to perform his assigned duties-"

"You know what I mean, Seven."

The drone recalled something she had seen other crewman doing; she offered Six a shrug.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

"Frak these sloppy offensives!" Six cursed out loud as she piloted the heavy raider into Pegasus' compromised hangar bay, narrowly avoiding several rounds from the battlestar's powerful defense battery. Her outburst seized the attention of a few of the Centurions who were on board, patiently waiting for her commands. She knew she didn't have enough to successfully complete this mission. Pegasus was a huge, state of the art battlestar; it wouldn't be long before she was shot, stabbed, blown up, burned, impaled, drowned, strangled, bludgeoned... hell, she was running out of ways to die violently.

At just the thought of yet another painful death Six felt the familiar sensation of her chest tightening. Her breathing quickened rapidly. "Frak!" She frowned and took a deep breath as she attempted to calm her thoughts and ward of the ensuing panic attack. If her superiors knew that she was now suffering from PTDS, 'Post Traumatic Death Syndrome', she would be a good candidate for 'boxing'. She'd managed to pass the Threes' silly psych evaluations so far, but it was getting harder and harder to appear unaffected by her experiences. It was bad enough some Cylons sacrificed so much that they became emotionally damaged, but putting someone's memories in cold storage was a really crappy way to say 'thank you'.

The Cylon contact that was hiding on board had done a good job of making it easy for them to bypass most of the ship wide security systems. Having the element of surprise in their favor, Six and her Centurions made short work of the resistance in the hangar bay and they continued down the hall until she encountered their contact. _'Damn it. Another Six.'_ She could tell by the expression on the face of the one called 'Gina,' she was thinking the same thing. Six knew that her presence would blow the other Cylon's cover, this meant that they both had to finish their mission. Quickly. For Gina it meant crippling the chain of command, killing the Admiral. For Six, it meant decompressing the ship- a task that she knew she was likely to fail at given their numbers.

Whose idea was it to send another Six anyway? _'Probably a Three- damn them!'_

The one called Gina watched her cautiously, "Six."

"Six." Six greeted her solemnly.

"You know what you need to do?" Gina asked, fidgeting terribly as she glanced over her shoulder. She looked like she was ready to bolt at any second.

"Of course." Six eyed her warily, something was off about this one, but at the time she couldn't put her finger on it. "You understand your mission, right? Take out the Admiral-"

She shook her head slightly in disbelief. "If you do your job it won't come to that..."

Six cocked her head and studied her brunette counterpart. "You know I will fail, half our squadron was shot down before we could land. Your cover will be blown with my presence. You need to get to the CIC now." Six watched as a shadow passed over Gina's eyes. Gina hesitated, then nodded absently and jogged off in the direction of the command center.

Six stayed close to a Centurion, but it was only a matter of time before she felt the hot searing pain of a bullet enter her chest. Her last thoughts were of Gina and the hope that she had been successful. They should have resurrected together, but instead she never saw her again.

Other Cylon agents in the Colonial fleet reported that Gina did finally kill the Admiral, but it was quite some time after Solaria had been killed on Pegasus. And Gina had never resurrected- at least not to Six's knowledge. Had Gina been successful she would have been revered by the other Sixes and enjoyed a status similar to Caprica Six.

Gina's target was very difficult to seduce; Admiral Helena Cain was known to be frigid at best. As Six thought of the one called Gina, she realized now that the look in her eyes had been anguish. She had developed genuine feelings for the Admiral.

"Solaria." Seven felt helpless as she watched the other woman struggle painfully in her dreamworld. "Six!"

Seven shook Solaria gently and the Cylon sat bolt upright. It took a few moments for her to get her bearings. Where the hell was she? Did she resurrect? She felt an incredible sense of relief as she recognized her surroundings; she was on a Cylon vessel! But something felt off. She turned and saw Seven staring back at her with concern in her eyes and then she remembered. Her surroundings quickly phased back into her bedroom on Voyager.

She took deep breaths as she permitted herself to calm down. She reached her right hand up to brush some stray strands of hair behind her ear and noticed that she was covered in a thick sheen of sweat. Seven was saying something to her.

"Are you all right?" The normally collected blond sounded panicked.

"I guess so." Solaria said with confusion in her voice. She felt Seven reach out and grab her shaky hand to steady her. Six eagerly took advantage of Seven's calming presence by snuggling into her embrace. She rested her head in the crook of her neck. They stayed in that position for several minutes before anyone spoke.

Seven was the first to break the comfortable silence. "Solaria-"

Solaria didn't want to have this conversation. She needed more time to sort out her feelings or whatever was left of them, "I'm okay. Really. It was just a bad dream."

Seven treaded carefully. "From the war?" She felt Six sigh against her shoulder and accepted it as an affirmative.

Six could tell that Seven was going to ask another question so she thought she would preempt it. She kissed her, effectively stifling whatever Seven's next question was going to be. This time Seven was the first one to break off the contact by hesitantly pulling away from Solaria. She studied the Cylon momentarily. The lights were dimmed, but not completely off and Six couldn't hide her vulnerability from the other woman's scrutiny.

She blushed under Seven's appraisal and for a moment she thought that her heart might actually burst from emotion. She could feel the question before the other woman asked it.

"I was projecting the interior of a Cylon vessel." There was a finality in her tone as if that would explain everything.

"I thought so." Seven continued to observe her thoughtfully. Feeling an intense urge to protect the other woman, Seven suddenly felt shy under Six's gaze. "I'll take care of you, Solaria."

Six smiled lovingly at Seven. She understood what she was experiencing now. "Seven?"

"Six?" The other woman replied curiously.

"I'm in love with you."

Seven's eyes widened at the sincerity of her admission. "Really?"

Solaria kissed her gently on the forehead, just above her ocular implant.. "Yes."

Six was suddenly blinded by a bright toothy smile on Seven's face. She declared happily, "I love you too!" Seven could hardly contain her excitement and she started to ramble in way that was unique to her Borg past, "I have been aware of this fact for approximately 16.9 hours and-"

Six had decided that they'd done enough talking for the rest of the night, as she kissed the other woman gently on the lips. Seven had no reservations about that course of action.

TBC...


	4. Part 4

Fandom: Battlestar Galactica / Star Trek Voyager crossover

Pairing: Seven of Nine/Six

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Owning them is just something I fantasize about it. *g*

Summary: Circumstances bring a Cylon to Voyager. How will she adapt? AU all the way. This chapter: Six and Seven attend a birthday party.

A/N: In regards to previous reviews, if it seems to move faster at points its intentional. I'm trying to pace it so that it doesn't start to drag- it ended up being so much longer than I'd ever imagined when I started. So by now, Six has been on Voyager for approximately 6-7 months. I'd also like to note that Six is NOT a part of Starfleet- I accidentally used the term ensign once in the last chapter. That has been corrected. She's a civilian crew member. The chapters after this one are much more plot driven. I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. It helps keep me motivated.

**A Tale of Two Sixes**

by Semerket

Part 4

_Four months later..._

"Morning sleepyhead." Solaria was stroking Seven's hair and cradling her head. Seven had fallen asleep on top of her...again. The Cylon's strength made Seven's weight a non-issue. Not wanting to wake the woman, she just watched her until she woke up.

"How long have I been asleep?" Inquired a groggy Seven. "Or perhaps I should ask you how long you've been awake?"

"Just over an hour." Solaria planted a kiss on Seven's forehead.

"That dream again?" Seven said, concern creeping into her voice.

"Yep. But it wasn't as bad tonight. I just wasn't able to go back to sleep," Solaria yawned, "Besides, its almost time to get up anyways."

Seven grumbled and moved off of Solaria slightly, only to snuggle into the crook of her neck, her right arm draped over her lover. She mumbled, "I don't want to get up."

Solaria laughed. "Hey, that's my line. Since when did you stop wanting to go to work anyway? "

"Since I started sleeping with you," Said Seven, which elicited a dubious look from Solaria. Seven continued, "And then you cook for me and clean and-"

Solaria laughed, "My, my. I see your sense of humor has improved." Solaria shifted and grimaced slightly, "And while you're being so hilarious why don't you get off my arm."

Seven smirked and pulled up slightly so that Solaria could pull her arm out from under her. Solaria cradled her arm as the circulation slowly came back into it. Seven looked concerned, "Did I hurt you?"

"No, my arm just fell asleep- the circulation is coming back and it feels tingly."

"I've never experienced this phenomenon before." Seven said seriously.

"I assure you- its overrated." Seven could hear the smile in the Cylon's voice. "I'll make us some breakfast."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Seven of Nine strode through engineering to a nearby console and began to deftly tap away at the controls. "Dammit! What did I tell you about changing my configurations without permission!" An exasperated Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres stormed over to where the tall blond was working. The blond continued her computations without stopping to acknowledge the smaller woman.

Seven replied coolly, "I am reconfiguring the shield modulations around the warp core-"

"Yea, I can see that! Seven stop." Lieutenant Torres waited for the former Borg drone to stop her actions. "Seven, that's an order!" The shorter woman barked, grabbing the attention of the rest of the engineering staff.

Seven hesitantly ceased her actions, but not before she punctuated them with a few more taps. If one had looked closely they might have noticed a brief frown pass over her features, but it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. Seven would never understand why Captain Janeway tolerated such inefficiency.

Seven spun on her heel to face the angry engineer. Clasping her hands behind her back and standing ramrod straight, she stared down at the Lieutenant with the haughtiest look she could muster. The engineer tried to reign her temper in before it got the better of her, but the former drone always brought out the worst in her. She took a deep breath and slowly ground out, "Seven, I want you to leave."

"I will leave when my computations are-"

"Get the hell out now!" The small woman growled angrily; her Klingon heritage getting the best of her.

This was not the first time that B'Elanna had shouted at Seven. Their relationship had become increasingly hostile over the past two weeks- most of their encounters ending with B'Elanna shouting and Seven briskly exiting Engineering; however, today would be different.

Catching the tail end of the conversation, Solaria breezed over to where Seven and Torres were standing. B'Elanna was so relieved to see her. She gave the Cylon a look that screamed 'do something!'

"Seven! Did you need something?" Solaria asked, trying to defuse the situation.

The drone hesitantly turned her gaze away from the chief engineer and focused it on the Cylon. "I need to make several modifications so that I can divert power to astrometrics to complete a scan."

Six nodded, "How long will your scan take?"

"Approximately 2.4 hours."

"Then you can put it back, right?"

"Of course." Seven almost sounded offended, of course she could redo the configurations. She was Borg.

Six turned to Torres, "Lieutenant, can Seven make the modifications if she corrects it when her scan is complete?"

B'Elanna was focused on a distant point, she looked as though she were counting to ten. "Yes... But you'd better put it back exactly the way it was!" She snapped at Seven and marched off.

Seven quirked an eyebrow at Six. "Your interference was unnecessary."

Six was surprised at her lack of gratitude. As a matter of fact, Seven seemed almost annoyed by her. She lowered her voice so that she'd only be heard by Seven. "Seven, you were about to start a fight!"

Seven pouted slightly. "And you ruined it."

Six's eyes widened and she shook her head ruefully. "That's just- you are so bad."

"So you have informed me on numerous occasions." Seven quirked an eyebrow and headed over to the console.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

After Seven left, B'Elanna decided it was time to have a chat with Six. The warp core could watch itself for a few minutes.

B'Elanna grabbed her tool box and approached the taller woman. "Hey Six, grab a tool kit, you're with me."

"Yes, Lieutenant." Six grabbed a small gray kit and followed Torres out of Engineering.

Six and Torres had a formed an easy rapport over the last few months despite the fiery klingon's anti-Seven views. B'Elanna had come to value Six's ability to follow orders quickly and effectively, and she didn't take any crap. She reminded B'Elanna of herself in that respect.

"So what're we working on?" Six asked.

"Gel pack replacement... jeffries tubes... you know the drill." B'Elanna trailed off. She sounded bored.

Six smirked, "Tired of the engine room?" Changing gels packs was a grunt job.

"You could say that." She chuckled, "Besides, there are worst things than getting bored. Like watching you put my subordinates in choke holds."

Six smirked, "I have to admit, I kind of like the way crewman Levin cowers in terror every time I walk past."

"I can't believe you did that." B'Elanna scoffed, "You're lucky the captain gave you a slap on the wrist. Not to mention that you have absolutely no remorse."

"Would you? You would have done the same thing and you know it." Six rolled her eyes. "Besides, last time I checked, _everyone_ cowers in terror when you walk past."

Torres smiled, "Ah yes, but I didn't have to strangle them to elicit that response. Intimidation is really an art form."

Six laughed, "Whatever."

"But as your superior you never heard me say that."

After heading down several corridors, the two women eventually made it to a hatch. B'Elanna popped it open and motioned for Six to crawl inside. Torres got in behind her and shut the door partially. They crawled through the shaft for several minutes before they got to their destination. Six could see the dead power cells, several in the chain weren't lit up. She pulled out her tricorder and got to work.

The two worked in silence for several minutes, until B'Elanna spoke up. Her curiosity was eating away at her.

"So how are you and Seven these days?"

Solaria laughed, "I wondered why you'd wanna crawl into a jeffries tube with me."

B'Elanna rolled her eyes. She had all the gossip, all of the rumors had to go through her first, but she was tired of rumors. She demanded fact!

"Oh just tell me already."

Solaria enjoyed teasing her, "Tell you what exactly?"

The engineer scoffed, "That you and Seven are forming your own little collective!"

Six laughed out loud as Torres handed her a new gel pack. "Well, that's one way to put it I suppose."

"I knew it. I knew it all along." Torres growled triumphantly.

"Well I'm not sure we were ever very discreet about it..."

B'Elanna laughed, "Well, it took Tom forever to figure it out. Same with Harry. And he still watches you with puppy dog eyes."

"Well..." Six raised an eyebrow, "They're a bit special."

Torres let out a guffaw. "That's an understatement."

"You know..." Six hesitated, as she wondered if she should tell her. She'd been wanting to tell someone. It was funny, damn it. Or at least she thought so...

"Yes?"

Six chuckled, "The Captain may have... walked in on Seven and I..."

"What!?" B'Elanna roared excitedly. Her voice echoed throughout the jeffries tube. _"No way!"_

Six nodded, "Lets just say, there was a reason I was transferred to engineering."

"Oh my god! That's worse than having your mother walk in!" B'Elanna put her hand over her mouth animatedly. "How did she catch you?"

"We were in astrometrics."

Torres' eyes bulged. She smacked Six on the back roughly. Causing the other woman to tip over slightly.

Then she laughed. She laughed for a long time. "Oh hoho ho haha ahhaha... hehehehehe... haha."

"Would it be silly of me to ask that you didn't tell the world about it?"

B'Elanna was tearing up, "Can I at least tell Tom and Harry? _Please_?"

"I'd rather you didn't." Six sighed as she wondered what she'd gotten herself into.

"Alright, how about Tom?" B'Elanna wiped her eyes. "He'd appreciate it more than Starfleet." She referred to the nickname she gave Harry.

Six blushed. She should have kept her mouth shut. "I will never look at her in the same light..." B'Elanna cleared her throat, "So I guess all that Borg efficiency is good for something, eh?" Torres prodded her.

"You have no idea."

"How do you stand it? I mean don't get me wrong, I think you're a nice person, but Seven? How do you do it?"

Solaria rolled her eyes, "She's really sweet once you get to know her." Then Six shrugged, "And maybe I'm just not as nice as you think."

Torres chuckled, although it sounded more like a growl. "Well I'm glad you're in engineering. Until this point we didn't know of any truly affective anti-Borg shielding. I'll have to submit a report to Starfleet about the role of Cylons in...

"Hey, don't talk about my girl like that." Six laughed and pouted simultaneously,

"You're a stronger person than I." Then B'Elanna thought of something. "Oh! You are coming to Tom's birthday party, right?"

"When? Where? Dress code?"

"Its in Fair Haven at eight. Casual dress- although a lot of people will probably be wearing their uniforms, especially if they just came off their shift."

"Fair Haven?"

"Its a holo-program. Its a pub."

It was the first time she'd heard of this place. She didn't know Voyager had an actual _bar_! Why didn't she know that? Six frowned. "Oh well..." Six really wanted to go, but she didn't want to go without Seven. "Um, I'm not sure..."

Torres rolled her eyes. "You can bring Seven, of course."

"Really?"

Torres scoffed, "What is this '_really'_ stuff?"

"Seven makes it sound like she never gets invited to anything."

"Bah. She never wants to go! She gets invited to just about everything. The Captain even _forces_ her to go to some of them. But you know her, its '_inefficient_'." Torres rolled her eyes at the last part.

"Maybe she feels like you don't really want her to come..."

"Gee, I wonder why she'd feel that way?" B'Elanna said flippantly as she smacked her forehead in mock ignorance.

Six glared at her.

Torres put her hands up apologetically, "Fine. You're right. But you know how she is! Its like she goes out of her way to make people miserable."

Six snickered.

"What?"

"Nothing." Six replied cryptically as she calmed herself.

"You aren't saying something..."

Solaria sighed, "I'll have a talk with her."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Six entered her quarters, well it was really more accurate to say 'their' quarters as of late. Seven automatically went to Six's room when her shift ended and more and more of the former drone's belongings were finding their way inside.

Six found Seven sitting on the couch going over a data pad. The blond greeted her lover without lifting her head, "Six."

Solaria came to stand in front of Seven, "So Seven..."

She glanced up from her data pad to study the Cylon.

"Would you like to come to Tom's party with me?"

Seven was never one for parties. "I prefer to avoid-"

"Social settings? Yes, I know. But I want us to go- as a couple." Six pouted, "Please?"

Seven wanted to say 'no', but Solaria's expression was making it exceedingly difficult.

Seven sighed. "It is inefficient."

Solaria crossed her arms.

"Fine. I will accompany you to the party."

Six leaned in and kissed Seven above her optical implant. She grinned playfully, "I _knew_ you'd want to."

Seven arched an eyebrow. "This is humor?"

Solaria stuck her tongue out in response. She knew Seven well enough to know when she was being cynical.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

The doors swished open as Six and Seven entered the holodeck. This was Solaria's second time on the holodeck since she'd come to live on Voyager. The first time was during an engineering simulation, but she had never seen holograms like this before. It reminded her of the way she used her projection ability. But since she was able to craft her own simulation it made the holodeck seem rather unimpressive and in a sense, pointless.

Fair Haven was a small village with stone buildings and thatched roofs. The green grass and overgrown ivy trailed up the side of the buildings like a spider web, the word 'quaint' came to mind. Seven had given her a detailed, (really too detailed), explanation of the program. The only thing she had deemed relevant from said conversation was the the fact that it was a small, Irish village that would have existed long ago in Earth's history.

"So have you spent a lot of time here, Seven?" The Cylon asked as she watched a poorly constructed wooden windmill creak around slowly.

"No, it is not my program of choice."

"Yeah. It's not quite what I was expecting from the crew of Voyager." Six chuckled as they strolled across a small stone bridge that went over a large stream that flowed through town.

"What do you mean?"

Six shrugged, she seemed unimpressed. "I guess it just seems... I don't know. Primitive?" She had expected a pub on Voyager to be much more advanced and trendy. She'd expected it to be even nicer than the clubs she'd seen on Caprica- after the nuclear fallout.

Seven allowed herself to smile slightly, she was relieved that she wasn't the only person that felt that way. "I agree. It is primitive and unremarkable. However, when I have expressed myself in such a way it has often offended others in the crew. They tell me that I am 'no fun'."

Six nodded. She could understand why the others reacted to Seven the way that they did, her bluntness still startled Six at times. But Seven's assessment was correct: this was lame. The sunshine was a nice touch though.

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to make our own fun for the time being. Besides, it's not the environment that has to be exciting. If you're with the right people you can have all kinds of fun." She said flirtatiously as she winked at the drone.

Six felt like a time traveler, with her blue jeans and red tank top, or 'twenty first century attire' as the Voyager crew referred to her preferences. Were they calling her outdated? She wasn't sure. But she did like wearing them- they seemed so much more stylish than Voyager's attire, and it made her stand out. Something that had always been a challenge when surrounded by thousands of Sixes that looked exactly the same way she did. She had tried to convince Seven to wear something different for a change, but the former drone was quite content to wear her blue biosuit.

Six was carrying a small gift in her hand, it was elegantly wrapped in silver (Seven's contribution) and it was topped off with a red ribbon and matching bright red bow (Six's idea).

Solaria followed Seven's lead and was eventually brought to a small building that she assumed was the pub. "Wow, this is it?"

"Indeed."

"It's a bit of a dive isn't it?" Six muttered to herself.

Seven was confused, "What do you mean by this term, 'dive'? Explain."

"Oh, you know... like a hole in the wall." Six chuckled as Seven's raised eyebrow continued to go up. "Its crumby."

Seven continued to stare at her. "I do not understand. How can a building have crumbs? It it not a food item. Explain."

Six sighed. "Its unattractive."

Seven had a calm look of understanding. Six could tell she still didn't really 'get it', but at least she knew that the comment was negative. "I understand now."

Six patted Seven on the small of her back as they headed towards the door. "So are all of these people real?" She referred to some of the towns folk who glanced at them with mild interest.

"No. Most are holograms. However, there are some in the crew who dress appropriately to the period."

"Figures." Six rolled her eyes. Nerds- the whole lot of them.

They looked around as soon as they stepped into the pub. It was very much as Six expected, only much cleaner. She assumed this was due to the fact that it was a program and not the real thing. There were quite a few people inside, some where wearing their uniforms, others were in more casual attire similar to Solaria's.

"Hey! I'm glad you came." Tom greeted both of the women.

"Happy birthday!" Six said enthusiastically as she offered him a brief hug.

Seven stood slightly behind Six, content to follow her lead. She felt awkward, "I believe it is customary to wish you a 'happy birthday', Mr. Paris."

He chuckled at Seven's seriousness. "Yes, thank you, Seven. Call me, Tom, when we're off duty." People in the crew were more willing to give Seven a chance now that she had a normal friend- well, one that at least appeared to be normal. They were also more patient when dealing with her, some out of respect, others out of fear of the Cylon's wrath. Solaria's incident in engineering had become common knowledge very quickly.

"We got you a little something." Solaria handed Tom the box.

"Oh, thank you!" He was genuinely surprised. "Can I open it now?"

"I don't know. Can you?" Solaria chuckled.

Tom shredded the paper with the enthusiasm of a four year old. He pulled out a small, square shaped data module. "Six hours on the holodeck?" He asked incredulously. Holodeck time was worth a lot on Voyager and six hours would take time to save up.

"It was Seven's idea." Six motioned to the drone.

"Well thank you, Seven." Tom was thinking of all the things he could do with those hours. "You won't miss this time?"

"I find that my need for the holodeck has been... reduced." Seven glanced at Solaria. Projection was far more intriguing, and she didn't have to leave their quarters.

"Well thank you very much, ladies."

Tom eventually excused himself as he headed off to greet more of his guests. Six turned to Seven, "Why did you tell him that the holodeck time was my idea? It was your idea, as was this entire outing."

Six smiled, "Oh, I just think it'll win you some much needed social points. Not to mention that even if it was my idea, it was your holodeck time- I haven't accrued that much yet."

Seven pondered that for a moment.

"Over here guys." Six turned to see B'Elanna seated at a table beside Harry. Six headed over to the table, with Seven following slightly behind her. "I see you two made it."

"Have a seat ladies." Harry offered.

Soon after they sat down a holo character came over and gave them each a piece of chocolate cake.

Six hummed as she took a bite. "This is good." For something that resembled mud, it tasted quite delicious.

"Yea, its one of the few things I've seen Neelix get right." B'Elanna said wryly as she watch the two blondes eat. She and Harry had already had some earlier.

Seven stared at her cake cautiously. She cast a glance in the Cylon's direction. "Try it, Seven. You'll like it."

"I do not require nutritional-" She trailed off at the Cylon's look.

"Seven..." The Cylon smirked at her as she gestured towards the offending dessert.

Seven hesitantly brought a spoonful to her mouth. Soon after she bit into it, a huge grin broke out across her face. "This..." She said through muffled tones, "So good."

Six smiled back at her.

B'Elanna jumped slightly and put her hand over her heart. "That's the first time I've seen you smile, Seven! And alien possession and public drunkenness doesn't count." The klingon hybrid found it mildly terrifying to discover that Seven was capable of some degree of normalcy.

Six smiled. It was friendly, but it also carried an underlying warning: be nice.

"Yes, Seven should smile more, she has a beautiful smile, don't you agree?" Solaria stared at Seven dreamily.

"Yes, she has a very nice smile." B'Elanna fought the urge to roll her eyes. She hoped she wouldn't have to watch Solaria give Seven gooey eyes all night.

Harry broke up the awkwardness, "So who's up for a round of drinks?"

Six perked up, "OOo, what kind of drink?"

Harry motioned the holographic server over. Several mugs of ale were placed on the table.

B'Elanna grinned as she stared at Six, "I'll bet you can't out drink me."

"Is that so, Lieutenant?"

Harry laughed, "There's no way you're out-drinking a Klingon."

Seven frowned slightly and stated matter of factly, "He is correct. You will lose."

"Well then I'll have to prove you both wrong."

_Two hours later..._

A severely inebriated Six whispered conspiratorially to Torres.

"Have you ever drank before, Six?"

The Cylon shook her head, "Only one time, with Seven when I first came here. But no- I never drink."

B'Elanna grumbled as she spared a glance at Seven, who was now on the other side of the room chatting with the Doctor. If B'Elanna had realized that Solaria was so inexperienced, she would never have allowed her to drink that much.

Seven made her way back to the table and sat down again.

After several rounds Solaria was feeling relaxed- quite relaxed. So relaxed that she found it difficult to keep her hands to herself.

Six slurred, "She's... so pretty..."

"Six." Seven pried the woman's hand off her chest only to find it back again, "Solaria!"

"Mhmm?"

"You are intoxicated. We should leave now." Seven suggested as she stood up. She shot a withering glance to B'Elanna and Harry who avoided eye contact.

"But I'm having so much fun..." Six slurred slightly as she ogled Seven.

"We can continue our fun... elsewhere."

B'Elanna felt her stomach churn, either at the ale in her belly or the scene she was witnessing. "Oh, get a room guys!"

"Its fun... Really been..." Six tried to be polite, but the words just weren't coming out the way they were supposed too.

B'Elanna and Harry were laughing. "Yes, yes, of course it has. You run along now."

Seven grabbed Six's hand and dragged her outside the pub. It was now night outside of the little tavern. The Cylon tilted her head up in fascination as she observed the artificial sky and stars.

"Pretty." At some point Six took of running as she continued to stare upwards, much to Seven's annoyance. Then the Borg heard a splash.

"Six?"

A drenched Cylon popped her head out of the water of the small creek that ran through the center of town. "Oh my god. Is this water? Is this real water? Am I really wet?" The Cylon laughed heartily.

"Yes, you are quite wet."

"Will I be wet if I leave the holodeck."

"No."

Seven extended her hand and helped the Cylon out of the water. "Well, that was an experience." The Cylon chuckled.

Several of the holographic townsfolk stared at a dripping wet Solaria as they were walking past

"What are you staring at?" Six yelled drunkenly at the hapless townspeople. They averted their eyes and hurried away.

"I don't like the way they look at you. You need to wear different clothes." Six held onto Seven's arm possessively, her voice taking on a jealous tone.

"They look at you as well. And based on your personality type they look at you more frequently and more hopefully." Seven studied the Cylon seriously. "I believe the dampness of your shirt may also have an effect on the stares as well." Solaria hadn't worn a bra- and it was now obvious as the red shirt clung her to lithe form mercilessly.

"That's completely beside the point!" Solaria slurred and gestured animatedly.

That's when Seven noticed something about Six's hair. She reached up and plucked out some green foliage.

"What the hell is that?"

"They are referred to as 'lily pads'."

Solaria laughed all the way back to their quarters.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

The drone woke up as the alarm went off. Even in her sleep mussed state she managed to look immaculate. She turned over and realized that Solaria was not in bed. Seven got up and went in search of her lover. Then much to her shock, she found the Cylon in the bathroom. She was lying on the floor and curled up in a ball.

She rushed to her side, and exclaimed fearfully, "What happened? Are you alright?"

She whimpered, "Seven, I feel like I'm dying..."

"Computer, two to beam to sickbay!" Seven said frantically as she scooped up the ill Cylon.

When they arrived the Doctor materialized immediately. "Please state nature of the medical emergency."

"Solaria is ill." Seven almost snapped at him as she placed Six on the biobed. "She said she thinks she is dying."

The Doctor's eyes widened as he whipped out his tricorder and performed a scan. He smirked, "Your blood alcohol level is .28! That's dangerously high. How much did you drink last night? How are you still conscious?" Most humans of her weight and body mass would have alcohol poisoning with that kind of BAC.

"I don't know?" Six looked to Seven.

"She consumed approximately..." Seven thought back, but she wasn't at the table the whole evening. She wasn't sure herself. "She participated in a drinking contest with Lieutenant Torres." That would explain _everything._

"Wait, so I'm not dying?" Solaria was confused, surely death was on its way.

"You're hungover. I'll give you some medicine and filter the ethanol out of your system. You'll also have to drink plenty of liquids- water to be exact." He wanted to clarify. It was obvious she had very little experience with alcoholic beverages.

"Hungover?"

"Yes, You have a bad hangover. Its what happens when you consume to much alcohol- or in your case ethanol. Its a form of extreme dehydration. Either way you'll need to replenish your body's fluids."

"Why do people drink then?" Six was mortified. Who wanted to feel like crap? It was, as Seven would say- inefficient.

"I ask myself that every time a crewman staggers in here." The Doctor said cynically and he shut his tricorder. "And, yes you still have to go to work."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

"Tom set in a course for the next system, Seven should have sent you the coordinates." Kathryn went to take her usual seat on the bridge next to Chakotay.

Harry tapped in some commands at his console. "Captain, long range sensors are picking up-" He trailed off.

"What is it Harry?" Kathryn asked.

"Well it was there a few seconds ago..." Before he could complete his sentence a huge vessel appeared right in front of Voyager nearly colliding with it. Several more appeared surrounding Voyager.

"Mr. Paris get us out of here!" The helmsman deftly evaded the path of the large ships. "Report!"

"There are four ships, no five...seven and counting!" The young man exclaimed.

Kathryn directed her question to Harry, "Were they cloaked?"

"No ma'am, I was picking them up on long range sensors. I'm not sure what kind of technology they use to travel through space, but its certainly nothing like warp."

"Hail them."

"Channel open."

"This is Captain Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager."

"No response to hails." Harry's eyes were glued to the readings on his console.

Tuvok said, "Captain they are firing weapons- they appear to be using some kind of nuclear warhead."

Kathryn visibly blanched, "Nuclear warhead?" She needed to make sure she was hearing that correctly. _'How primitive'_, she thought to herself. That wouldn't even put a dent in Voyager's shields. "Tuvok use phasers to detonate them before impact."

"Firing phasers. Warheads destroyed."

Harry piped up, "Captain they are hailing us."

To be continued...

* * *

Reviews help me write faster. :-)


	5. Part 5

Fandom: Star Trek Voyager / Battlestar Galactica crossover

Pairing: Seven of Nine/Six

Disclaimer: I swear, I don't own any of them! Femslash.

A/N: I self beta... :-)

A Tale of Two Sixes

by Semerket

Part 5

There was something different about today. Solaria couldn't help but notice the changes and it wasn't just her ebbing headache from earlier. The atmosphere on Voyager was tense as everyone buzzed about. She had just parted ways with Seven and had been on her way to her usual post in engineering when Captain Janeway had contacted her and requested her presence at a senior staff meeting. Maybe her drunken foray into the holodeck hadn't gone unnoticed by security. Damn it.

As she arrived at the meeting room, she took a moment to steel herself before entering. It was the first time she had ever been to a senior staff meeting; she remembered that Seven had to attend those periodically. After taking a deep breath, she approached the gray doors and stepped inside as they swished open. Seven was sitting across the table from Tom and B'Elanna. They were the first people that had arrived. Solaria felt a little relief at that.

"Hey." She greeted everyone as she slid into a chair beside the drone.

"Hey tiger." B'Elanna was grinning like the cat that ate the canary. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright." Six sounded a little tired. The doctor had taken care of the nastier parts of her hangover, but she was still a little sleepy.

"I'm glad to hear your illness wasn't _terminal_," The engineer said seriously. Tom and B'Elanna burst out laughing. Even Seven allowed herself a small smile at Six's expense.

The Cylon blushed. God, she felt so dumb.

"Hey, don't laugh at my pain." Six pouted. She cringed as she felt her headache creep back.

"Ya know," B'Elanna drawled. "I have it on good authority that the people of Fair Haven have officially dubbed you a 'trouble maker'."

Solaria rolled her eyes and feigned disinterest, "Is that _so_, Lieutenant?"

She nodded sagely, "Yes. As a matter of fact, some of the townspeople believe you're some kind of-"

Tom cut her off excitedly, "Oh, can I tell her, B'Elanna? Can I?" Tom chirped with the enthusiasm of a five year old, for which B'Elanna immediately shot him a death glare. He shrank away, clearly disappointed.

Six rolled her eyes at their ribbing, her curiosity getting the best of her now. "Spit it out already."

"They think you're a prostitute." The duo burst out laughing again. Seven blushed slightly.

Six flushed as well. She pouted, "Well I could care less what a bunch of holo-characters think about me!"

"That's what she said." Seven shot back with a hint of innuendo in her tone, a smile still tracing her lips.

Everyone's eyes widened. Was Seven using sarcasm? Six looked completely scandalized, but rather than directing her ire at Seven she directed it to the chief engineer. "You are a bad influence! You and you're smart mouth..." Six whined.

"Says the hooker..." Torres smirked. Six was immediately relieved when their teasing was interrupted as the rest of the senior staff arrived: Tuvok, Harry Kim, Chakotay, Neelix, and the Doctor came in and joined them at the table. The Captain came in a few seconds behind them and took her usual seat at the head.

The Cylon's eyes immediately gravitated questioningly toward her lover's then to the Captain's.

"Thank you for joining us, Six." The Captain said warmly.

She tried to gage the mood of the other people in the room- so far it didn't seem like she was being reprimanded.

The Captain began the meeting. "The reason I've invited Solaria is because of her familiarity with the people that refer to themselves as Colonials. We've made first contact with them this afternoon and have agreed to formally meet..."

Six's brain officially went blank when the Captain's words finally registered. She interrupted Captain Janeway much to the surprise of everyone present in the room.

"Wait, wait, wait. You made contact with them?" Six asked incredulously.

The Captain watched her expectantly, "Yes, we made contact with an Admiral named William Adama less than an hour ago."

Six's look of confusion turned into sheer terror, "I'd like to formally request asylum on Voyager!" The Cylon could feel herself starting to sweat. She had been dreading this ever since she set foot on the alien vessel. She just knew it was all too good to be true! Something had to ruin her happiness.

The Captain watched her with extreme curiosity, "Its granted, of course."

"My people are at war with them. They can't know that I'm on board Voyager or they'll think that you are a Cylon collaborator. Don't mention me at all to them. I'll answer your questions as best I can, but I cannot meet with them directly."

Torres had to comment at that, "Are you some sort of war criminal?" She couldn't help but wonder if they were harboring the Adolf Hitler of Cylons right on board their own vessel. During the incident in engineering she'd seen a side of the Cylon that would give even the toughest of Klingons pause.

Six suddenly found it difficult to meet their eyes so she settled on staring at the table. "In their eyes all Cylons are criminals." And realistically, she couldn't blame them.

The Captain nodded, "Fair enough. Six will remain on board Voyager throughout the duration of our transaction with the colonials and her presence on Voyager will remain classified until further notice. That's an order."

Commander Tuvok spoke up, "Captain, I would like to go over away team assignments to assess the compatibility of their technology."

"Go ahead."

The next few minutes were like a blur to the Cylon. She was still reeling over the fact that they had actually encountered the Fleet. Of all the aliens, of all the planets in the universe, what were the odds that Voyager would encounter the Colonial Fleet. Six tried to drag herself back from her thoughts so that she could focus on the situation.

Tuvok proceeded to go over a roster of team members that included six security personnel including Tuvok himself, the ship's Doctor, and Seven of Nine. The last name is what grabbed Six's attention.

"No!" Solaria exclaimed worriedly as thoughts of unimaginable horrors saturated her psyche, "You can't send Seven."

Everyone looked at her strangely as though she'd grown another head, Seven included. The borg directed her inquiry at the Cylon, "Voyager cannot spare its chief engineer and I am the most qualified person otherwise. It would be most efficient..."

"No, you don't understand. Those humans," She had to correct herself as the old prejudices crept up, "I mean the Colonials _hate_ cybernetics and artificial intelligence."

Tuvok was unsure of her point, "Seven is a not an artificial intelligence."

"I know that, but they won't understand. She won't come across as," she chose her words carefully, "_human_ enough." She wanted to warn Tuvok that it wouldn't hurt for him to be less 'up tight', but she realized that advice probably wouldn't be well received by a Vulcan.

Everyone understood the meaning of her statement, Seven included. Six could tell that she had offended the other woman, even though to most people the former drone appeared completely unaffected.

"It's not safe to send the doctor either, unless you plan on introducing him as a human. I'm not even sure how they'd respond to meeting someone like Lt. Torres- they can be narrow and paranoid."

Janeway took that into account. "That's good to know." So far what Six had said about the Colonial fleet seemed somewhat accurate. They had launched nukes at them without even so much as attempting to make contact. It was a misunderstanding, but it was a very severe misunderstanding none the less. But there was always more than one side to a story as Janeway often discovered.

"Solaria, I was hoping you could give us some background on their people, as well as explain your people's relationship to them."

Everyone stared at her expectantly.

Solaria hesitated for a while before she decided where to begin. She started off with the basics about the twelve colonies and etcetera. Anything she wasn't comfortable talking about in detail she was able to just shrug it off and say that she just 'didn't know' on account of her being a Cylon and all.

She told them everything she felt they needed to know without giving away the fact that Cylons were completely cybernetic. The Doctor's knowledge of her physiology more or less defined her as human, but they still didn't quite understand that Cylons were made and not born and as far they knew Cylons were just another faction of humans. Fortunately that wouldn't really be an issue for Voyager anyway- they were only going to be interacting with Colonials so hopefully the subject of Cylons wouldn't need to be brought up.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Several days had passed since Voyager had made contact with the Colonial fleet and Six was getting tired of keeping a low profile. She'd spent most of her time in her quarters, and when she wasn't there she would duck into cargo bay 2 or the mess hall. The Cylon was getting restless so she tapped her combadge.

"Six to Seven of Nine."

"Solaria." Seven greeted her through the combadge.

"I am _so_ bored!" Six whined.

Seven smiled to herself. Solaria had been contacting her excessively over the past few days. "I am sorry."

Six rolled her eyes, even though Seven couldn't see the expression. "Well, its not your fault."

"I will be off duty in 3.6 hours."

Hours. Solaria grimaced. She needed some kind of stimulation before she went nuts. "I'm coming to visit you. Are you alone?"

"Yes, but the Captain's orders-"

"I know. I know. I figured out a way to improvise so I don't have to hide all day. I'll be there in a sec. Six out."

Six paced back and forth in her quarters while she considered the best way to go about hiding her identity. She thought about using a hood, but seeing as how it wasn't raining in the middle of Voyager she might get more than a little attention. Under normal circumstances a scarf would seem the most appropriate, but she was wearing a black blazer and a pair of jeans, with black boots; she'd stick out like a sore thumb with a mummified head. There were ski masks, but that was too shady. Oh screw it, it wasn't like she was trying to make a fashion statement.

"Computer, replicate a black scarf."

She managed to wrap in such a way that she didn't look too strange, unless she were a ninja. It was large enough to form a hood, which she used to partially cover her face. But with all the non-humans walking around, the Colonials wouldn't even give her a second thought anyway. Content that her disguise was adequate, Six ventured out of her quarters and made her way to astrometrics. As soon as she approached the doors, she saw two Colonial soldiers walk past. They hadn't noticed her disguise. She ducked into astrometrics and was relieved to see Seven at her console.

"Seven!" Her voice was slightly muffled behind the cloth.

"I see you made it here in _one piece_," Seven smirked at Solaria's get up.

"God, this place is swarming with them! I didn't realize they had free run of the ship now."

"Several Colonial ships are docked in Voyager's hanger bay."

"Ah. Pilots. _Great_." Six thought back to her fortuitous arrival on Voyager.

"Our transaction is almost complete, we will be going our separate ways soon."

"And good riddance."

Seven quirked an eyebrow inquisitively. "Do you hate them?"

Six shrugged, "They hate me and that's what matters. But I can't honestly pretend to be fond of them either."

"I think I can understand." Seven said as she continued to work at her console, "I will see you at dinner." She said it as a statement, but Six could tell it was a question.

The Cylon sighed dramatically and slouched, "Yes... Why? Did you have plans or something?"

"No, but I do not require nutritional intake as frequently as you. I would not be offended if you... started without me." Seven said the phrase a bit awkwardly.

"No, I'll wait." Solaria cut her eye at the drone. "Trying to get rid of me, huh?"

Seven looked like a deer caught in the headlights for a brief moment.

"Fine, I know when I'm not wanted."

Seven looked guilty, "Solaria I-"

The Cylon burst out laughing. "God, Seven. You are so easy." She rubbed Seven on the back affectionately. "I know you're working and I wouldn't want you to finish later than usual." She teased her. "I'll see ya later, babe." Six gave her a peck on the cheek before she walked away, leaving a slightly baffled Seven behind. Would she ever understand this 'humor'?

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

As Tom and Harry entered the mess hall they were immediately fascinated by some of Voyager's visitors. Three people from the Colonial fleet were crowded around a table playing a game of cards.

"I'm Tom Paris, and this is my friend Harry Kim." Tom introduced himself and shook hands with the three Colonials.

A blond woman shook his hand, though she seemed largely unimpressed with Tom. "That's Sharon and Helo. You can call me Kara."

The visitors peaked Tom's interest immediately. "You're pilots, right?" Tom was almost jealous. Vipers seemed like a lot more fun to fly than Voyager...

"Yup." Kara took a sip of Voyager's replicated beer. The only thing that would complete this moment were a pack of smokes. But apparently there was a 'no smoking' rule on Voyager. Figures.

Harry smiled, "Tom is Voyager's helmsman."

The man named Helo piped up with genuine interest, "So you're the one flying this bad boy?"

Tom beamed with pride. "That would be me."

The blond woman laughed and said with thinly veiled hostility, "Well maybe you could try to watch where you fly it." She referred to their near collision from several days before.

Tom's ego wasn't prepared for her sudden hostility. "The same could be said for your fleet-"

Sharon looked up from her cards, "Kara be nice. It wasn't their fault. It was an accident."

She sighed. "You know, you're right. I'm sorry Mr. Paris." Then Kara muttered cynically to Sharon, "But thanks for reminding me, skin job."

Helo frowned, "Not this again."

Harry was baffled, "What's a 'skin job'?"

Helo answered him, "Its a derogatory term for a Cylon."

Harry understood. He tried to make conversation, "So are you a," He didn't want to offend the pretty asian-looking girl.

"I'm a Cylon. I'm also a pilot in the Colonial fleet." She said the last part defensively. She was tired of being judged by her race.

Tom tried to change the subject, "So what're you playing?"

Kara sized up the two men. They obviously wanted to chat. And Kara wanted to play someone that might actually have something tangible to bet. She figured she could beat these two suckers easily.

"We call it Triad." She took another sip of her replicated beverage. It was obvious to Harry and Tom that she had a chip on her shoulder.

"Mind if we join you?" Tom asked.

"That depends on what you have to bet."

Tom looked thoughtful. "We could bet replicator rations... which means we could replicate you something based on whatever it is that you... want?" He wasn't sure what they'd find appealing.

Sharon and Helo smiled. This would be too easy. Kara thought for a moment- there were so many little luxuries they'd gone without over the years of running from the Cylons. Foods, toiletries... Kara needed something that she could actually use.

"How about smokes?"

"Smokes it is."

Her eyes lit up with child-like glee as she motioned towards the empty chairs at their table.

"And what is it you'd want?" She said almost flirtatiously.

Harry smiled charmingly, "The satisfaction of playing with a few lovely ladies."

Kara fought the urge to roll her eyes. She laughed, "Well, don't hold your breath. I'm no lady."

"Here are the rules." Helo walked them through a match as a demonstration.

"Sounds a lot like Poker." Harry chuckled.

_Three games later..._

Harry sighed, "I'm out." God, they sucked.

"I wanna win my stuff back." Tom whined as Harry tried to back out.

Harry crossed is arms, "Well you aren't doing it with me."

"Aw, and I was just starting to like you," Kara laughed sarcastically as she eyed her pile of winnings happily. She couldn't wait to get back to Galactica so she could lord her fresh cache of alcohol and cigarettes over the others.

That's when Tom caught sight of just the thing, or _person_ to turn their luck around.

Seven had just finished her shift. Now all she had to do was drop off a data pad for Mr. Neelix and she could spend the rest of the day with Six. The mess hall was still relatively empty, but that would soon change when the dinner crowd arrived. When she approached the kitchen area, Mr. Neelix was no where to be found. Thank god. Seven had been dreading a long chat. He was a nice enough man, but Seven just wasn't in the mood. The tall drone left the data pad in the kitchen, where she was sure he would find it and made her way towards the doors.

"Hey Seven!" Tom waved her over enthusiastically.

Seven paused and walked over to where the group was sitting. His friendliness immediately put her on guard- it was unlike him to go out of his way to be friendly towards her when Solaria wasn't around. "Mr. Paris?"

"Hey Seven, this is Kara, Sharon, and Helo- they're from the Colonial fleet."

Seven quirked an eyebrow. "Their uniforms make that apparent." She stated seriously, eliciting a chuckle from Harry.

"Well we," Tom looked to Harry for support, but his friend frowned at him, "Well, _I_ was wondering if you'd like to join us for a game of cards."

"I do not have time for idle pursuits." At least not with _them_.

Tom frowned. Then he decided to try appealing to Seven's vanity, he hoped she had some. "Oh well, if you don't think that you could beat them..."

Seven fell for his manipulation and replied haughtily, "Winning would be a minor task."

"Then why don't you put your money where your mouth is." Kara snapped irritably. She didn't like this woman's arrogance. She reminded her of herself.

"I suppose I have a... few minutes before I need to leave."

Tom beamed and moved out of his seat. "Let me explain the rules."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

"What the hell is taking so long." Solaria was draped over her couch, bored as ever as she projected a relaxing lake-side scene. "Computer, locate Seven of Nine."

"Seven of Nine is in the mess hall." The computer monotoned.

The Cylon peeled herself off the couch and re-wrapped her scarf. It was time to do some Borg hunting. "You better not be eating without me..." Six pouted at the thought as she made her way to the mess hall.

As Solaria stepped through the sliding doors she experienced a strange combination of emotions. She was torn between feeling angry and happy. She was glad that Seven was playing cards with other people- Seven needed to have more friends, but she was also irritated that some of the people Seven was playing cards with were from the Fleet. Solaria observed them unnoticed at a distance. There was a blond human woman that stood out in particular. Why did she seem familiar? Solaria thought back for a moment as it all came flooding back.

_It was a day just like any other. This time she bypassed the silly white coat and wore a black tank top instead. Solaria patrolled the streets of occupied Caprica searching for more humans. Most humans would've died from radiation poisoning a long time ago. The only humans left were mostly part of the resistance- their access to radiation meds was the only thing keeping them alive at this point. She hated her job. Why did she have to do this while the others got to lounge around in abandoned cafés and restaurants, pretending that the dead cities were interesting. _

_As she made her usual sweep past the old museum she noticed a damaged raider parked outside. 'This isn't a landing zone,' she thought with interest. After a little bit of checking in the interior of the Raider she found a coat with a tag on it- it said, 'Starbuck.'_

_Upon entering the old museum she realized that a human had indeed been flying it. A young blond woman- definitely military by the looks of the uniform. She appeared to be searching for something. She was holding some sort of piece from an exhibit. Well, it didn't matter. She had a job to do after all._

_She silently crept up behind the blonde."Pretty isn't it?"_

_Startled by the Cylon, the woman spun around and waved her gun frantically, but Six had anticipated her reaction and punched her in the face knocking her back against a display table._

"_Hello lieutenant." She hovered over the shocked soldier, while the woman tried to right herself. "Something I can help you with?"_

_Solaria disappeared behind several columns once the lieutenant got her bearings and began firing at her haphazardly. Six wasn't usually one to taunt her prey, but she had been exceptionally bored this time._

"_Welcome back to Caprica, Lieutenant. Like what we've done with the place?" _

_The lieutenant stalked around the room agitatedly, trying to determine where the Cylon was hiding. Solaria snuck up behind her again and easily disarmed her. Now the soldier was wielding the golden arrow artifact that she had been holding earlier._

_Six felt her amusement turn to irritation as the sharp end of said object nearly grazed her chin. She grabbed it from the woman and back handed her painfully for her resistance. _

_The two of them fought for several seconds, although to be fair, Six basically beat the living hell out of the smaller woman. Eventually grabbing her by the hair and throwing her against a statue. It never ceased to amaze her just how 'squishy' humans were. Ew. But at least this one was putting up more of a fight. Some of the members of the resistance had been pitiful at best in their attempts to fight her. This one was feisty even if she was significantly weaker than her opponent. _

"_C'mon, Starbuck." She taunted her, she wasn't finished toying with her yet. It was so much more satisfying now that the weapons were out of the way and it was just hand to hand. She went on to give the soldier the thrashing of her life._

_The shorter woman peeled herself off the floor and stood to face her._

"_Got anything left?" She grabbed the lieutenant and proceeded to use her like a punching bag, until the shorter blond fell onto the floor painfully. Six proceeded to kick her until she was confident that the human had been sufficiently incapacitated. Solaria walked over to where the golden arrow was and picked it up and took a moment to study it. She would never understand why a human soldier- an **actual** soldier from the Colonial fleet would be creeping around in some ruined museum. She briefly considered finishing the lieutenant off with said arrow._

_But she didn't have long to ponder that because apparently her opponent was more resilient than she'd anticipated. The last thing she remembered was the human woman charging into her, knocking her off of a ledge- she had expected round two, but instead Six ended up downloading._

She felt her body tremble with rage at the recollection. She'd never imagined she'd encounter someone that had managed to kill her in a past life. Well, past body anyway. Her legs seemed to be moving through no volition of her own will. Its was as though she were watching a movie play out.

"You're counting cards!" The woman named Kara accused Seven angrily.

"I have an eidetic memory, it is impossible for me to avoid doing so." Seven replied haughtily.

"You _cheated_." Kara said loudly. "Do you know what happens to cheaters?"

"If your intellectual capacity was as high as your confidence, than perhaps you may have been more successful." Seven said smartly.

"Frak you, toaster!" Kara stood up and thew her cards down on the table angrily. Her fellow pilots tried calm tensions.

"Don't talk to her like that." Six snapped. Her face was half-covered by that ridiculous scarf.

"I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't talking to you." Kara stood up and glared at the stranger whose face was covered. That irritated the lieutenant even more.

"Well I'm talking to you." The tall woman got right up in Starbuck's face. "And you don't talk to her like that."

Tom and Harry exchanged worried glances. "Whoa guys..." Tom tried to mediate. Wasn't Six supposed to be keeping a low profile?

Seven glanced worriedly back and forth between the the two women. Solaria was doing exactly what she was told not too.

Kara edged closer as well, she wasn't backing down just because tall, dark, and hooded said so. "Or you'll what?"

"Or I'll finish what I started."

"OOo, I'm shakin'." Kara laughed in her face. Helo found himself laughing too.

Six pulled off her scarf. "Hello again, lieutenant. You're lucky I landed on that beam." She said icily.

Kara's eyes widened in shock. Before she could react the Cylon was on her. She pinned her to a nearby table and proceeded to punch her mercilessly.

"Kim to Tuvok, we need security in the mess hall, now!" Harry chirped nervously into his combadge as he and Tom stood as far away from the carnage as possible.

Seven interceded quickly before too much damage was inflicted and pulled Six off of Kara, who was now equally enraged. Especially now that she realized just which particular Cylon this was, no other Cylon had punched her that way. Kara jumped off of the table and landed several blows in rapid succession across the Cylon's face. Six wasn't able to adequately defend herself because Seven had her arms restrained, and the borg was stronger than she was. Fortunately for Six, Starbuck wasn't able to do much damage, hell, she might not even bruise much behind it, but she was tasting blood in her mouth- her lip was probably busted.

The other two Colonials were already pulling Kara away from the Cylon as a security team entered.

"You frakking skin jobs!" Starbuck yelled angrily through her bloodied nose as Helo rushed her out of the room. "You're frakking _everywhere_!"

Sharon stood there studying the Six open mouthed. The eight was shocked to see another Cylon- a Six no less. They really got around. She thought she'd recognized the woman's voice as a Six, but she had quickly dismissed it as an impossibility.

"You're a Six!"

"No kidding." Solaria huffed cynically at the eight. Then she eyed Sharon's uniform resentfully. "And you're a frakking turncoat. You Eights were always soft in the head. Even the Fives noticed that about you, and they _never_ noticed anything!" She struggled slightly against Seven's grip, but she could tell there was no way she was going to squirm out of it. She wasn't sure what she hated more in that moment- humans or Cylons that jumped ship.

It was common knowledge amongst the Cylon's that Sharon Agathon had given birth to a human-cylon hybrid baby and joined the Colonial fleet. Unlike some of the Sixes, Solaria had always found that fact rather unimpressive, if not mildly disgusting. She generally felt that way towards most infiltrator Cylons. Never trust a spy, that had been Solaria's motto- especially if that spy was an eight. They had the lowest mission completion rate of any other models. Leave it to an eight to let their feelings get in the way.

Six glared at the Eight. "I've always wondered what it was like to be weak. Care to enlighten me on that topic, _Eight_?"

Sharon glared back. "My name is _Sharon_."

"Aw, of course it is." Six cooed obnoxiously.

"And I see you've taken a name yourself- _Solaria_." She said her name with contempt.

The Cylon glared. She had her on that. "Its called _necessity_..." Solaria finally stopped talking as security escorted her away.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

"Captain you've been harboring one of our enemies on board your ship- what am I supposed to think? For all we know you could be working with them- or you might be one of them." The acting President of the twelve colonies, Laura Roslin, spoke to Captain Janeway via one of the communication devices that Voyager had supplied them with.

It was Kathryn's turn to laugh this time, "How many times must we have this conversation?" Captain Janeway leaned forward in her chair as she spoke to the other brunette.

"Look, I want to believe you, but I have a lot of other officials that will want an answer. If you hand the Six over to our custody then I can convince the council to just forget this ever happened. After all you'd had no previous contact with the Cylons so you were unaware of their...our history."

"I can't do that."

Roslin adjusted her glasses, "And why not?"

"Solaria has been on board Voyager and has been serving in my crew for several months now. As soon as we encountered your fleet she formally requested asylum aboard Voyager and I have granted it. She will remain on board my ship for the duration of our transaction."

Roslin took off her glasses and sighed. "Captain, you don't understand the Cylons. They might look like us and act like us, but they are _not_ _human_."

"I am fully aware of the anomalies within Solaria's biology. But Voyager has many crew members who are non-humans and they are entitled to the same rights and privileges as everyone else."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe they planned to put her on board your ship some how? So that she could sabotage or steal your technology for her people's gains? Gains that would undoubtedly be used against us!"

Kathryn resisted the urge to add cynically, _'no I didn't'_, but instead she replied sympathetically, "I'm sorry that you've had such a horrible history with them, but try to understand from my perspective-"

"The problem with your 'perspective', Captain, is that it has been tainted by a Cylon. What do you think they were programmed to do? They were programmed to infiltrate us so that they can destroy us. She's just doing what her base programming tells her to. As a Six I'm sure one her first objectives was to sleep with someone in your crew. Someone with technical expertise. Who was it from your crew, Captain? And how many of your precious secrets did they tell that thing?"

A red flag went up in Janeway's head. _'Solaria would never do that'_. But somehow Kathryn was suspicious. The Cylon's relationship with Seven seemed innocent enough. They both seemed great for each other and had so much in common- especially their experiences with humanity. Not to mention that Solaria had been quite helpful in engineering. Then the suspicion came back. It was true what the woman was telling her. She was sleeping with a crew member and now had access to sensitive ship systems.

Roslin immediately understood her expression. "Wow. Sometimes I hate being right. I suggest you relinquish custody over to us."

Janeway glared at her. _'Do we really want these people coming to Earth?'_ Kathryn had to honestly ask herself. _'Maybe I should point them to an uninhabited similar looking planet and tell them its Earth.'_ She thought angrily.

"But she might have information that can help us fight them."

"I'm sorry Ms. President. If you would like to prematurely end our relationship, then I'll understand. But I won't turn over a member of my crew to your custody regardless of what she is."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

After spending an hour in sickbay as the doctor repaired her lip, Six finally entered the Captain's ready room under Tuvok's escort. The young blond braced herself for impact; this wouldn't be pretty. The Captain stared at her coldly from behind her desk as she walked into the center of the room. Kathryn addressed her security officer first, "Thank you, Tuvok. That will be all for now." He nodded sagely and exited the room.

Kathryn now stared at the young woman before her. Ever since Solaria's arrival her integration into the crew had gone surprisingly well, but not without incident. Most had been cultural misunderstandings or the occasional temper tantrum. Janeway had always considered herself a patient woman, but her patience had its limits and altercations were bad for morale.

Six waited for Janeway to say something, but instead the Captain just stared at her as though she were considering something. The Cylon assumed that she was supposed to explain herself. "Captain, I-"

"I thought my orders were clear." The Captain said in an icy tone.

"I can't lock myself away in my room forever."

The Captain rolled her eyes at the Cylon's dramatics. "It was just for a few days. You know you weren't supposed to be outside of your quarters without proper clearance."

"Its like being under house arrest."

"You said yourself that you needed to stay away from them. Now I have to do _major_ damage control."

Solaria frowned, "So I should return to my quarters-"

"I don't want you to talk right now, Six." The Captain said in clipped tones. "You can save whatever speech you planned to give me this time because I don't want to hear it." Kathryn stood up from behind her desk and grabbed two data pads. She walked around it to stand directly in front of Six. Even though Kathryn was significantly shorter than the Cylon, the younger woman still felt as though the Captain was towering over her. Janeway glanced at one of her data pads, "You've been on Voyager for less than a year and you've already got multiple incidents on your record."

Six was about to speak when Janeway put up her hand and said calmly, "I just want you to listen." The shorter woman began to pace back and forth in front of the blond with her hands clasped behind her back. "I realize that you are still relatively new to Voyager, but I assure you I have very little tolerance for such blatant disregard for our rules and regulations..." Janeway still hadn't forgotten the scene she'd witnessed in astrometrics. She blushed, how could she ever? "But it would seem that somewhere down the line you've stopped following orders, which inevitably lead up to the altercation this afternoon."

The smaller woman walked back to her desk and leaned against it with crossed arms. She looked Six in the eye, "Care to enlighten me as to why orders and protocols no longer apply to you?"

Six crossed her arms and replied, her face was unreadable, "You don't understand-"

Janeway cut her off, "You're absolutely right, Six. I don't understand."

The Cylon hesitated then shrugged noncommittally, "Its inefficient?" She said in a tone that could only be described as bratty.

Janeway let out an incredulous guffaw. She could see why Six and Seven got along so well- they were both operating with the maturity level of teenagers.

"What possessed you to attack Captain Thrace?"

Six looked down at her hands, how the hell was she supposed to explain this one. "She... well, this might sound really weird, but..." Six felt her anger arise again. She continued through gritted teeth. "She killed me."

"Is that some kind of metaphor?"

Six huffed. "No. It was kind of like... a past life... I don't know how to explain it to you."

"Well we have plenty of time. I'm aware that you weren't entirely honest about your people's relationship to the people of the Twelve Colonies."

"I never lied to you." The cylon declared.

"No, but you withheld information, which is effectively the same thing. Did you think that the Colonials wouldn't fill in the blanks that you left? And you left quite a few Solaria. Why didn't you tell us that Cylons were created by the Colonials?"

"Because I didn't want you to freak out." Solaria said honestly, "Besides, I wasn't created by _them_. Only the older original Cylons were made by them. There have been quite a few lines that have come and gone since the first war. I'm still a person you know."

Janeway sighed. "The issue of your sentience was never in question, Solaria."

"Good. Because we've evolved quite a bit since then."

"Evolved enough to attempt a genocide?"

"I was a soldier. I follow orders. That's all."

"That's all?"

Solaria saw the older woman frown. "But with all due respect Captain, the circumstances of our peoples' conflict is of no real practical concern to you. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought this was just a technology exchange?"

"It wasn't a concern until you let your _conflict_ spill out into the middle of Voyager's mess hall!"

The Cylon was contrite. Janeway wasn't the enemy. She had been nothing but good to Solaria. "I'm sorry." Six started to tear up. "I just get so angry sometimes. And before I know it I just can't control myself."

Janeway felt her frustration turn into sympathy. "How long have you been experiencing this?"

Solaria shrugged, "Quite a while now, I guess."

"And you've seen a lot of active combat over the years."

"Yes."

"I'm going to recommend that the Doctor schedule you for an appointment with our holographic counselor. You might be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder."

Solaria laughed.

"Is something funny?"

"My people would box me on the spot, rather than send me to a shrink."

"Box?"

Six was still chuckling, "Uh... its like being put down."

Captain Janeway blanched. "That's awful!"

Six stopped laughing, she supposed that only someone who had died multiple times could find that humorous. "Oh. Well I..." Six stared at her toes, "Sorry."

Kathryn sighed, "I'm suspending you for the next three weeks. You will continue your usual shifts in engineering when on duty and you will keep out of engineering unless I give you permission. Any and all recreational privileges, such as holodeck access will be suspended and when you are not working or eating in the mess hall you will remain in your quarters unless I say otherwise. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Captain." Solaria was still staring at her toes. She was just grateful that she was being thrown into the brig.

Janeway sat back down in her chair. "Tuvok will give you more detailed instructions. You are dismissed."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

_Two days later..._

Tom chuckled as he scanned one of Galactica's conduits, it was their turn to work on Galactica, "This one time Be'lanna and I played this trick on Vorik.." The pilot trailed off realizing that something else had his friend's attention. "Hey! Are you listening?"

"Hey, is that Solaria?" Harry asked incredulously as he watched a tall blond woman walking on the other side of the platform. "I thought the Captain told her to stay on board the ship."

"Couldn't be. But it does look a lot like her." Tom squinted eyes as he studied her.

"Solaria!" Harry runs over to the guards escorting the Cylon. The woman continued walking.

As Harry got closer to her he saw that she was in handcuffs. He grabbed her arm stopping her in her tracks. "Solaria? Six?" The beautiful blond turned and eyed him warily. She was getting really tired of angry people getting in her face. _'These guards are so worthless'_ She thought bitterly. "Are you alright? What's going on?" He asked worriedly.

One of the guards blanched and shoved Harry rudely with the butt of his gun. "Back up, man! What the frak are you doing?"

Harry put his arms up and moved away from the woman, but never took his eyes off her. The woman smiled weakly and replied, "I'm sorry. I think you have me confused with someone else." Caprica Six felt guilty for a moment; she hoped she hadn't inadvertently blown another Cylon's cover.

"What are you talking about? Your name is Six isn't it- Solaria Six? What did they do to you? Its me, Harry from Voyager." Tom moved over to Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Harry was starting to draw attention and her guards were becoming visibly uncomfortable with their exchange.

"I've never been referred to as Solaria before. You have me confused with someone else." One of the guards grabbed her arm roughly and urged her in the opposite direction, while the other guard shot Harry and Tom dirty looks. The Cylon turned her head and observed the young man thoughtfully as they rounded the corridor.

Harry and Tom stood there dumbfounded at what they had just witnessed. Tom turned to look at Harry, "Couldn't be..." The helmsman sounded uncertain.

Harry snapped out of his reverie and tapped his combadge. "Kim to Captain Janeway."

"Janeway here."

"Captain is Solaria still on board Voyager? Is she alright?" He said rapidly.

"Computer, locate Solaria." Kathryn inquired.

"Solaria is in the engineering." The computer replied blandly.

Knowing that Harry had heard the computer through her combadge she asked, "Why would you ask that? What's going on down there?" Kathryn said, dread creeping into her voice. What should be a simple exchange of goodwill was quickly turning into a major source for concern.

Harry took a breath, "Its just the strangest thing. Tom and I saw this woman who is the spitting image of Solaria- I mean they could be identical twins! She said I had her confused with someone else. She didn't recognize us, but-" The young man paused, "I don't know what's going on here, but it was very weird."

"Alright. I'll have Tuvok check into it."

"Thank you, Captain. Kim out."

TO BE CONTINUED...

comments keep me motivated.... :-)


	6. Part 6

Disclaimer: I don't own em. PG-13

Summary: Circumstances bring a Cylon to Voyager. How will she adapt? AU all the way. Femslash.

Last chapter, lest you have forgotten (its been a while): Kara Thrace fights Six in the messhall. And then Caprica Six makes an appearance.

A/N: I would also like to thank people that are still reading this fic- I've been horrible with the updates. My muse was whisked away into the Delta Quadrant and its been taking her _forever_ for her to get back! But she sent me an encoded message to motivate me to finally post this chapter! Sheesh. :-( Hopefully she'll find a Borg transwarp hub or something... Anyway, enjoy!

A Tale of Two Sixes

by Semerket

Part 6

Caprica Six couldn't stop thinking about the young man that had approached her while she was being escorted through the dreary corridors of Galactica's interior. She had never seen his uniform before. He definitely wasn't part of the Fleet's military. As she was lead down a long hallway she noticed there were other people wearing similar black uniforms.

"Hold." She heard one of the guards command her as they all came to a stop. As the guard spoke to another guard she took the opportunity to observe these outsiders.

She watched as a man tapped his chest and said, "Peters to Voyager. I'm ready to beam out." She watched in awe as he disappeared into thin air. These outsiders had some kind of teleportation technology.

That's when she realized that one of the guards was talking to her again. He raised his voice in annoyance, "I said move, toaster!" He jabbed her cruelly in the side with the butt of his gun in a crude gesture to make her move forward. Had she been human the blow would most likely have resulted in a broken rib.

Several minutes later when she was back in her cell, Caprica thought of the young man, his name was Harry, if she remembered correctly. He obviously knew a Six. He said he was from _Voyager_- she assumed it was the ship he came from. The same ship she'd seen the other man 'beam' to. She knew he could be her ticket off of Galactica, but there was only the matter of reaching him.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

"What the frak happened?" The guard yelled at his comrade.

"I don't know... it was fine a minute ago." He referred to the blond woman curled up on the floor.

"You shouldn't have hit it that hard. Maybe you hit a vital."

"Toasters have vitals?"

"Just open the damn door." The other soldier did as his comrade suggested. "Now go phone the Doc and tell him he has a 'special' patient coming in. Tell him she looked like she had some kind of seizure."

"Yes sir."

The other soldier went inside the cell to check on the prisoner. He walked over to where Caprica was lying on the floor. As soon as he reached down to check her pulse her eyes popped open and she grabbed his arm. Then she punched him as hard as she could, instantly rendering him unconscious.

As soon as he was out of the way Caprica made a break for it. She knew she wouldn't have time to get very far, but if she could just find the young man she'd spoken to earlier she might actually get off Galactica without eating a bullet.

"Frak!" Yelled the other guard in panic as he watched her sprint out of the brig. He got on the phone and contacted the admiral.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Caprica Six charged down the corridors turning heads as she went. Some soldiers didn't register that she was a Cylon because she went past so quickly, but a few others were shouting and scrambling to find their guns.

"Harry!" Caprica shouted desperately. "Its me, Solaria. I need you to _help me_!"

Harry blanched. "Solaria?" Harry and Tom stared at her confusedly. "What the hell is going on?"

"There's no time to explain- they'll kill me. I need you to... beam me to Voyager."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Here." He stuck a small communicator on her chest. "Kim to Voyager. One to beam up."

"Energizing." Harry was the last thing Caprica saw before she appeared on Voyager.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Caprica stood on the transporter pad with a bewildered expression on her face. She was in a completely new location. It was clean and well lit, a stark contrast to the dark, metallic corridors of the battlestar. A young man standing near a console was obviously surprised to see her. "Where's Ensign Kim?"

Caprica tried to play it cool. "Oh, I needed to beam back to Voyager and Harry gave me this." She gestured to the small metallic object he had fastened to her shirt before her 'beam out'.

The young man raised an eyebrow and looked as though he was about to comment when the automated doors swished open to admit several more people. They immediately greeted the young man at the console and distracted him with their friendly banter. Caprica took the opportunity to slip out before he had a chance to ask her anything else.

As soon as she left the strange room, she now found herself in a long, well lit corridor. She walked purposefully in a random direction as she tried to formulate her next course of action. She was betting that there was already a Six somewhere on board. There had to be. She needed to find her, while minimizing her interactions with the crew. Hopefully the other Six could help hide her somewhere on board.

She passed several crewman as she headed down the corridor somewhat aimlessly. One smiled at her, while the other didn't really acknowledge her at all. Caprica had no idea what kind of social status her cylon counterpart maintained on this alien vessel, but so far it would seem that she was at least not considered a second class citizen, and based on the genuine concern that 'Harry' seemed to express for this Solaria, perhaps she was well liked. _Interesting_.

"Where the frak am I?" Caprica whined to herself as she approached a console. She studied it briefly, wondering how it could be accessed. As she watched the lights dance off the colorful console she heard someone approach her from behind. She turned around and was greeted by the sight of a tall tanned man with a facial tattoo.

Commander Chakotay smiled jovially, "Hey Six, you sure get around fast. Didn't I just see you on the turbo lift? You changed your uniform too?"

Caprica tilted her head as she considered how to continue this conversation. "The turbolift...yes...the turbolift over that way?" She nodded her head in the direction the man had came from.

"Yea, over by Cargo Bay 2." He looked at her strangely. "Are you alright? You seem a little... dazed."

She shot him her most charming smile, "Oh, I'm fine. I just get turned around every now and then- and about the uniform, that's why I came over...here...I just needed to... I spilled something on it." She finished quickly before she started to sound like a liar. "I can be a real klutz sometimes."

The man didn't seemed fazed by her rambling. He chuckled and nodded. "Yea, I know what you mean. I've served on Voyager for years now, but I still find myself getting off the lift on the wrong deck occasionally."

Six smiled. "Yea, its just one of those days I guess. And where were you heading?" She asked, feigning interest.

"Oh, actually I'm looking for B'Elanna, you seen her?"

"Can't say that I have."

Chakotay glanced up, "Computer locate Lt. Torres."

The Computer monotoned, "Lt. Torres is in Jeffries tube nine alpha, deck eight."

The man turned his attention back to Caprica. "I'm glad I asked, it saves me an unnecessary trip to Engineering."

Caprica smiled, "Well I'll talk to you later."

"I'll see you around."

Caprica watched as the man headed off down the hall. As soon as he was out of earshot she imitated his actions. "Computer locate Solaria."

"Solaria is in cabin four two zero on deck four."

If the computer could locate people then perhaps it could do other things as well. "Computer, is anyone else with Solaria?"

She heard a beep, "Please restructure the question."

Caprica sucked in a nervous breath, "Computer, is there anyone else in cabin four two zero... on deck four?"

"Solaria is the only life form in cabin four two zero." the Computer monotoned.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Solaria plopped down on her bed and gazed up at the ceiling. House arrest sucked, but it was better than the brig at least. After the scene she'd made in the mess hall earlier she was more than content to stay home.

Solaria smiled when she heard the front doors swish open and close. Seven was actually home early for a change.

Solaria got up, "Seven, hey-" She stopped in her tracks and tried to evaluate whether or not she was hallucinating.

"Hello Six, or should I call you _Solaria_?" Caprica smirked.

Solaria's mouth dropped open as she registered who the other Six was. "Caprica? You- but how?" Solaria realized that the door would have mistaken Caprica for herself.

Caprica moved closer to her. "I need your help."

Solaria tried to get over the initial shock of seeing another Cylon. "You escaped from Galactica?"

"No, I just thought you'd like to have a sleepover." The more experienced Cylon muttered sarcastically.

Solaria frowned.

"I need a place to hide." Caprica said as she worried her bottom lip.

"Um... let me think." Solaria thought hard. She paced back in forth in the small living room. Where the hell could she stash another Cylon? "That's difficult. Voyager's technology is far more advanced than ours. They can easily scan for your life signs."

"Can you override them?"

Six sighed, "I think I know someone who can help."

"Can they be trusted?"

"Of course." Six took offense, "Can _you_ be trusted?"

"I digress."

Solaria tapped her combadge, "Six to Seven of Nine."

"Seven here." Seven monotoned.

"I need you to come home immediately! Its an emergency. And make sure you don't tell anyone I said that."

"Six?"

"Just come right now, as in right this very second, _please!_"

"On my way. Seven out."

Caprica noticed her use of the word 'home.' If the other person lived here then that could mean... "Is Seven more than a friend?"

Six smiled softly, confirming Caprica's suspicions. "So what do you do on this ship?"  
Caprica took in the interior of the room.

Solaria didn't consider it an odd question, "I've worked in engineering for the last few months."

"How long before they know I'm here?"

"It depends. Does Galactica know you made it to Voyager? If they told the Captain then they could be scanning for your already." Solaria shrugged.

Caprica moved closer to her. She could see that Solaria was happy with her current place in life, she also thought her rather naive. Caprica was contrite. "I'm sorry."

Solaria's brow furrowed, "For what?"

"For this. For everything." Caprica shrugged.

Solaria was confused, was Caprica Six apologizing for her past mistakes? Apparently so. "Its a little late for that, you know." Then Solaria turned her back to her as she leaned over a small console, "Besides, Seven will be here in a few minutes and I'm sure we can figure something out. They aren't like the Colonials you know." Solaria heard the other woman step behind her. She spun around, "Hey, what the-"

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

When Seven entered the room she was shocked at the sight before her. "Solaria!"

Solaria spun around, she was standing over a now unconscious Caprica Six in the middle of the living area. She was visibly upset, "Seven! She escaped from Galactica, and she tried to kill me!"

"Seven of Nine to Tuvok. We have a situation in Six's quarters." Seven quickly moved to her lover's side, visibly relieved that she was alright. Then she noticed a trickle of blood from her forehead. "We have to get you to sickbay."

Solaria waved it off, "Oh, no its fine really. Just a scratch."

The doors swished open as Tuvok rushed in with a security detail.

He approached Seven, "What has transpired here?"

Seven answered for Six, "There is another Cylon on board that escaped from Galactica. She tried to hurt Solaria."

He observed the unconscious woman and checked her vitals. "I see. The Colonials had just informed me of a security breech. She convinced ensign Kim that she was you." He referred to Solaria.

Solaria asked carefully, "What will happen to her now?"

"I have strict orders to immediately transport her back to Galactica. She will receive their medical treatment."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Admiral Adama's voice came through Captain Janeway's communicator, "I'd like to apologize on behalf of the Colonial Fleet, for our failure in security. And we appreciate that you returned the Cylon to our custody."

"No thanks is necessary, Admiral. I'm just glad no one was seriously hurt during this ordeal."

"You're right. And I think the quorum will be able to overlook the other Cylon that serves in your crew since you've been nothing but fair with us."

"I appreciate that. I'm just glad that we can move past this... misunderstanding." She was irritated that Harry had been involved in helping her off Galactica, but the confusion was understandable. They looked like identical twins. It was just another piece of relevant information that Solaria had failed to disclose. Fortunately their transaction was coming to an end and they would be going their separate ways.

_]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]_

_The next day..._

Solaria paced around her quarters with a nervous edge to her movements. "Seven?"

"Yes?" The tall drone smiled as she gazed up at her lover. She hadn't been able to spend as much time with her during the upgrades, and her regeneration cycles, but now that they were finished they had all the time in the world.

"When will we part ways with the fleet?"

"They jumped away this morning."

Solaria let out a relieved sigh, though it was hard for her to keep the sadness out of her eyes. She hoped the other Six would be alright. She wished it could have worked out better, for both of them.

"Solaria?"

"Hmmm?"

"Are you alright? I thought you would be happy when they left." Seven said seriously.

"I am." She forced a smile.

Seven cocked her head and eyed her curiously. Then she walked over to the other woman and stood in front of her.

"What?" Solaria asked. Maybe Seven wanted sex? She leaned in and gently placed a kiss on the tall woman's lips.

Seven pushed her back gently. Seven could sense that she was nervous. Her heart rate had increased and she was showing signs of anxiety. Something was wrong. The drone studied her silently for a few moments. The her eyes widened, "Who are you?"

Solaria laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

Seven felt herself become overcome with anger and embarrassment. She should have noticed sooner than this- she would have if she hadn't been regenerating the night before. "You are not Solaria!" She raised her voice.

The Cylon took a step back. "How can you say that?"

"You don't know things that she would know. You even smell different. I thought it was just the soap..."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

In a deft movement, Seven tapped her combadge, "Seven of Nine to security, there is an intruder in my quarters."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

"Help me! Please! Somebody," Solaria cried helplessly as she watched her unfeeling human captors on the other side of the glass. Did they think this was funny?

"Anybody," She begged, hating herself as she did it. She was a soldier damn it; she'd been trained and conditioned to withstand physical and psychological torment, but she never could have imagined the torment of not knowing if she would ever see Seven again. Her stay on Voyager, brief though it may have been, had left her vulnerable and weak. And what about Caprica? Was she going to parade around pretending to be Solaria? Would she really stoop so low as to exchange lives with her as though they had just exchanged shirts? Solaria may have been taught to hate humans, but in that moment she absolutely _despised_ Cylons.

Roslin stood beside Adama, Tigh, and Doc Cottle. They observed her hysterics calmly as though she were some kind of strange bug.

Without turning away from the scene before her, Roslin spoke, her confusion was evident. "This is what you wanted to show me? I don't understand."

Colonel Tigh spoke in his pirate-like voice, "She's been at it all day." Disgust was evident in his tone, the only thing that was missing was an 'arr matey' and a red parrot. "We've tried interrogating her, but she won't shut up long enough to listen to the frakking question!"

Adama continued to observe the Cylon, "She's been asking for Captain Janeway."

"Should I feel sorry for it?" Roslin said through slightly gritted teeth. Captain Janeway should have handed the _both_ cylons over to their custody in Roslin's opinion.

Adama replied calmly, "I don't think its the same one."

"You mean you don't think its Caprica Six?"

Colonel Tigh rolled his good eye, the other was covered by an eye patch, "They're machines, you've got one you've got another. Besides, maybe this one can tell us something new. She certainly _talks_ more."

"How do we know she isn't just lying?" The President inquired.

"We don't." Adama shrugged slightly and directed his attention to Dr. Cottle, "Doc?"

The ship's Doctor took a long, unhealthy drag of his cigarette. "I'm a surgeon, not a psychic." He would never understand why they consulted him on things like this. He wasn't a frakking shrink for Gods' sake.

"I think we should talk to her." Adama said.

"You mean _'it'_?" Roslin corrected. She hated it when they tried to humanize the Cylons, just because they looked human didn't mean they were.

The Admiral nodded and the President followed him up to the section of the cell that had fencing instead of glass. At some point Six had collapsed into a ball on the floor. She imagined the emotions she was experiencing were called despair. It hadn't truly set in until she had felt the fleet jump away. She wasn't sure if Voyager could track an FTL jump. She didn't even know if anyone realized she was gone yet. She tried to take calming breaths as she felt herself start to hyperventilate.

Roslin had to give the Cylon credit, her emotional display was an effective way to gain sympathy. Maybe Adama was right, even on a bad day Caprica was never _this_ dramatic.

"Caprica, I'd like to talk to you for a moment."

Solaria's despair quickly deteriorated into rage. She glared at the President and lunged at the fence, her actions made her human visitors visibly startle and step back from the fencing. Caprica had never showed this level of aggression either.

"Don't you ever call me that!" She growled with a shocking ferocity for someone so sad only a few seconds ago.

"What would you like to be called then?"

"Anything else." She scoffed. Six tried to calm down, maybe it wasn't all lost. "Call me Six."

"Really, I thought you had a name?" The admiral asked carefully. He knew from experience that people responded better to questioning when they felt that the interrogator could sympathize with them. For a Cylon it meant treating them as though they were human.

Six wasn't stupid; she had interrogated enough human prisoners back on New Caprica to see what the admiral was trying to do.

"Does it really matter? I don't see any other sixes in the room." She said resentfully. "I need to go back to Voyager."

"The hell you do." The colonel chimed in.

"They'll come back for me you know," Six said as convincingly as she could, but whether or not it was for their benefit or hers she wasn't quite sure. "Once they figure out what's going on they'll come looking for me!"

Admiral Adama didn't want to see her antagonized. The truth was that he actually did feel sorry for her... it. "What makes you so sure of that?"

Six didn't know.

Roslin was getting tired of this, it was just a trick. "Then why don't we just call you Caprica?"

"Because I hate that sociopath as much as you do." She said passionately.

Laura actually had to laugh at that; Caprica was a sociopath.

Colonel Tigh said, "Last time I checked, you all are."

Laura spoke up, "You might as well make yourself comfortable, _Six_." She said her designation with contempt, "We aren't going to look for Voyager on your behalf."

to be continued...


	7. Part 7

A/N: My muse completely bailed on me so I had to track her down and force her at gunpoint to finish this.

**A Tale of Two Sixes**

by Semerket

Part 7

Caprica sat on the bench in Voyager's brig as she tried to ignore her silent visitors. Seven had been pacing in front of her cell for the last twenty minutes or so. She could tell the woman was furious. Caprica's eyes met Seven's and she felt guilty again. She was glad there was a force field separating the two of them. The woman had proven herself very strong before security arrived- shockingly so. Caprica surmised that it had something to do with the metal casing on her arm, but she wasn't sure and she hadn't really cared enough to ask.

"I take it you have a name?"

Caprica was pulled out of her musing by the Captain's voice, and judging by her tone, she was furious as well.

"I'm Six."

"Yes, I've gathered that much." Janeway said in clipped tones. "But what do you call yourself?"

"The others call me Caprica."

"Alright, Caprica." Kathryn said her name as though she were testing it out. "I realize that-"

Seven cut her off, "Captain, she-"

"Seven." Janeway snapped. Her patience was already wearing thin. She grabbed Seven's forearm and ushered her out of ear-shot of the cylon. "I told you, you could _observe_."

"But-" Seven's face was stricken.

Janeway's tone softened, "You understand their technology more than most of the crew, we need to track their vessels before they get too far away." Janeway went on. She realized that FTL technology could jump them beyond the reach of Voyager's warp drive.

Seven's eyes widened. She hadn't been thinking clearly since she'd realized Solaria was missing. Now her face filled with a new determination. "Yes, Captain." Seven said in her borg tone. She shot the imposter a withering look before marching out of the brig.

Janeway moved back over to the force field. "Why did you even do it?" She was genuinely interested in the answer she would give.

"I just wanted to try a new cell. I thought it'd be a nice change of pace. So far I'm not too impressed with your brig. I mean, its more advanced than Galactica what with your fancy shields and all, but I actually had more space over there, but don't get me wrong- at least its sanitary."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"Moving up in the world," she said sarcastically.

" You knew we would find out sooner rather than later. You don't even know your way around the ship."

Caprica sighed tiredly. "Yes, I knew."

"So you hoped that you would become stranded on Voyager, and then what? We'd have no way of reaching them again?"

"No! It wasn't like that. I just wanted off of Galactica." She stared down at her hands. "I didn't come here with the intention of switching places with her."

"So what? It just _happened_?" Janeway was disgusted.

"I just want to go home. I thought she could hide me or something, but when I realized she couldn't I panicked."

"Do you have any idea where they may have been heading- areas of significance?"

"Ya know, they never told me anything." Caprica smirked, "Its one of the reasons I left. Funny how that works."

"Your attitude isn't helping."

Six sighed. "I thought you had some sort of technology exchange? Or am I mistaken?" Caprica got up from her seat and stared down at the Captain through the force field.

"We may have."

"What will happen to me?" Caprica changed the subject. She wasn't too worried about respecting the chain of command on Voyager. She had typically been polite to the Admiral and the President of the Colonies, but those were just niceties that were primarily motivated by the need to survive. It was easy to be nice to people knowing that they might blow you out of an airlock on a whim, but it was obvious to Caprica that Voyager was different. There would be no airlockings or random acts of brutality. It would be easier to get her way here.

"I'm sure we can work something out." Janeway replied, although she would make her no promises.

Caprica shrugged, "I don't know where they jumped too. I wasn't lying when I told you I was a prisoner."

"Do you have any idea what we should look for?"

Caprica shrugged.

"I'll have you go to Astrometrics with Seven. Solaria mentioned that she could recognize constellations without technical know-how."

Caprica frowned. Damn.

Noticing Caprica's reluctance, Janeway added, "You're going to help, or I'm going to leave you stranded on the first habitable planet we come across."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Two days. They had been doing this for two days straight. Caprica tried not to look as bored as she felt. Seven had been scanning intensely to no avail. Caprica had been little help until this point, opting to keep her mouth shut unless she had something to contribute, not to mention that Seven might get angry and knock her back to the Twelve Colonies.

"Do you recognize any of these?" Seven demanded.

Caprica gave them a once over. "Nope."

"You're not even trying." Seven was angry at Caprica's apathy. The more time they lost the odds of finding the fleet were becoming more and more slim.

"Nope."

"You don't want to find her." Seven stated irritably.

"Find her? Well we know where she is- she's on Galactica." Caprica stated bluntly punctuating it with a roll of her eyes. She regretted that statement immediately as the last thing she remembered was feeling Seven's metallic palm connect with her face.

Caprica woke up in a medical bay with a bald man peering down at her.

The cylon slowly mumbled, "Seven hit me."

He snapped his device shut and stated unsympathetically, "Well I'm sure you probably earned it."

"She hit me...in the face." Caprica sat up slowly as she repeated herself as though she were asking for directions.

"She also fractured your jaw, but there's no need to worry. I've repaired the damage." He said smugly as he patted her on the shoulder.

"So it would seem." She rubbed her jaw. It was still throbbing slightly from the impact. Caprica realized something in that moment- she didn't like this guy.

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

"You can't just go around hitting people because they make you angry!" The Captain chastised her.

"But I am experiencing a great deal of satisfaction and I am able to work more efficiently as a result."

"Hitting people is _not_ efficient." Kathryn silently blamed Solaria for putting that notion into her mind.

"I apologize that I have upset you."

Janeway pinched the bridge of her nose at Seven's phrasing.

Caprica came in under Tuvok's escort.

Janeway asked diplomatically, "How are you feeling."

"I'll live." Caprica rubbed her jaw as she avoided eye contact with the drone.

"You seem to be functioning within normal parameters." There was a barely discernible smirk in her tone.

"I'm so touched by your concern." Caprica said hotly.

"Yes, I require you to be conscious for the duration of our search." Seven brought up several maps she had scanned. "Do you recognize these?'

Caprica moved closer to them and a reddish formation immediately caught her eye. "That..." She shifted her jaw and it popped. She glared at Seven. "The nebula to the right. It rings a bell."

Seven zoomed in and huffed, "I showed you these maps yesterday and you said that you didn't recognize them!"

"My _mistake_." Caprica said with a challenge in her voice.

Janeway spoke up, "You've been there before?"

"No. But the last time I had access to this kind of information was before I ended up on Galactica. It was listed as a Colonial point of interest."

"Why the interest?"

"They believe in this elaborate prophecy and destiny..." She waved it off, "But we thought there was a possibility that they would end up going there eventually. I never learned exactly why though. If they did head that way there's no telling how long they'd stay."

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Kathryn stood in front of the Cylon's cell, yet again. "You've been lying to us."

Caprica stood up and faced the Captain. "If I could see what it is your people are looking at, then perhaps I could be of more assistance." Caprica suggested politely.

"My people have scanned this area- there's nothing noteworthy."

"Perhaps your people just don't know exactly what they should be looking for." She said cryptically.

"Do enlighten us."

"If you'll show me."

Janeway frowned and nodded to two of her security personnel. They removed the force field. "Try anything and-"

"Yes, I understand." Caprica finished quickly as she followed the security crew and Captain back to Astrometrics.

Seven heard the door slide open. She turned, expecting to see the Captain, but she was surprised to see the Six too.

"Captain." It was a question and a statement.

"Seven, I want you to bring up the scans from long range sensors."

Seven gave Caprica the once over before complying, "Yes, Captain." She turned around and tapped in a few commands at her console.

"Is any of this familiar to you?" The captain directed her question to the Cylon.

Caprica stared at the three dimensional imaging. It was odd, experiencing the data visually as opposed to linking herself via a basestar's system. "How long has Voyager been here?" Caprica asked absently.

Seven was about to respond, when Janeway cut her off, "Why are you stalling?"

"Excuse me?"

"Its obvious that you're waiting for someone and I doubt its the Colonists."

Caprica turned to the Captain, she was annoyed that she'd been figured out so easily. "The Colonial's are always being tracked by the Cylons. If you catch up to them, perhaps our people can combine our efforts in finding Galactica." Caprica tried to explain.

Kathryn laughed. "I think not."

"Captain, its really quite simple. I don't want to go back to Galactica and you want your Cylon back. I might have an idea of where they might go, but I won't help you unless you give me your word that you will not hand me over to the Colonials. I want asylum."

Janeway tensed, "I have no interest in involving myself with your people's conflict."

"You involved yourself the moment you gave our enemy your technology."

"How dare you-"

"And I haven't forgotten your transporter technology. How do I know you won't just 'beam' me back to them?"

"You'll have to take my word for it."

"Humans have lied to me before. Your word isn't good enough."

"Well its as much as you'll get."

"Then I suppose you'll just be stuck with me instead."

This woman was infuriating. Kathryn decided to use another approach even if she had no intention of harboring a war criminal. "Trust goes both ways. If you tell us where to find the fleet and your information is accurate, then I'll discuss your situation with the Admiral and the President."

Caprica studied Captain Janeway dubiously, "What exactly does 'discuss my situation' mean?"

"It means I'll see what I can do, but I can't make you any promises."

"You might not have too." Caprica said with a smirk in her tone that could only be described as ominous. Janeway wasn't sure what she meant by that, but she could tell that she probably wouldn't approve.

Caprica looked thoughtful for a moment, "There is another nebula- its blue with a purple and yellow center. Its not too far from here. That's all I know about it."

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

Solaria sat up on her cot when she heard footsteps approaching her cell. She was visibly disappointed to see it was Sharon Agathon, but it could have been worse. It could have been the President again. Something about the look in that woman's eyes told Six that she was just itching for an excuse to execute her.

"Hey, traitor." Six said lackadaisically from the small cot that she was sitting on.

Sharon rolled her eyes, "You've had all this time to think and that's the best thing you could come up with?"

"What do you want now?" Six sighed tiredly, "I just don't have the energy for you."

"I thought you might be hungry actually."

Six's eyes widened and she said with mock enthusiasm, "I didn't realize that Cylons working in the Colonial fleet were in charge of craft services! Congrats, Eight."

"Or I could just leave and you can be hungry."

She'd held out as long as she could, but Six _was_ getting hungry. Fortunately, her physiology made her more resilient than the average human. She sighed dramatically, "Fine. I won't snap your neck when you come in." She wanted to add 'this time', but she could tell that the colonials weren't taking any chances with her, not after whatever it was that Caprica did to escape.

Sharon entered the cell and hovered near the door. There were two Colonial guards standing not far away.

"So what is it that you used to do?" Sharon tried to make conversation as she handed Six the tray.

"On Voyager?" Six placed the tray on the cot and picked up the small brown bowl and a utensil. She raised an eyebrow as she poked at the white substance with her spoon. The blonde cylon took a tentative bite and immediately resisted the urge to gag. Even the alien food she'd had on Voyager was better than this slop; she didn't know humans still made gruel.

"Before Voyager?"

Six snorted contemptuously, "More than you apparently."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Enough to know exactly why you came in here." Six was thoroughly disgusted with the brunette. "I don't even know why you bother anymore. I know what you're trying to do."

"And what's that?"

"You're Adama's puppet. He wants you, another Cylon, to gain my trust so that I'll tell you whatever it is that _they,"_ She cast a glance at a dark wall of glass."Want to know." Six realized they were probably looking for a reason to toss her out of an airlock so she'd been keeping her mouth shut.

Sharon laughed, but Six could tell by the other woman's startled expression that she had been correct. "Why are you _so paranoid_?" Sharon was annoyed.

"Its called interrogation protocol 101, or did you not get the same programming that I did?"

"How do you know I'm not just being friendly?"

Solaria was very skeptical, "Friendly? I bashed your blonde buddy in the face. Highly unlikely."

"But we're both cylons." Six looked at Sharon incredulously. "Despite our differing views."

"_Oh, Eight._" Solaria threw her head back and laughed. "I needed that."

"I told you my name is Sharon."

Six laughed even harder, her eyes filling with tears of amusement.

"You don't like Eights very much, do you?"

"I like them more than Threes and Ones, if that's any consolation."

Sharon smirked, "Ah, Three. Half the reason I defected..." She muttered under her breath.

"One time I resurrected and this Three was waiting for me. I told her that I was killed by a bomb. And she said 'I do not like this word 'bomb'. Its not a bomb. Its a device that is exploding." Solaria laughed.

Sharon's brow furrowed, "But that makes no sense."

"That's what I said to her!" Six's laughter subsided, "But she didn't see how it was funny."

Sharon chuckled, "She probably wouldn't." A guard motioned to Sharon and she stepped outside of the cell as they secured the door. They continued to talk. "You know, your attitude isn't going to make this any easier on you. They're not so bad."

"I'm sure they'd be great if I were having their babies too." Solaria shot back, "Besides, I'd rather not get too comfortable. Just because you enjoy playing house on Galactica doesn't mean we all want that. Voyager will find me you know."

"Yea, I guess you'd rather play house on Voyager instead." She wasn't stupid, the level of protectiveness the Six exhibited over the serious woman called Seven did not go unnoticed to her.

"Whatever." Solaria's tone had a finality to it.

Sharon took that as her queue to leave. After exiting the brig she approached President Roslin, Colonel Tigh and Admiral Adama, they had just exited the viewing room on the other side of the dark glass.

Laura Roslin was talking, "We could try her for war crimes- she's unrepentant and she obviously played an active role in our people's destruction."

"I think we should keep her." Adama was tired of the blood shed, "She has knowledge of Voyager's technology- she could be useful."

Sharon seemed reluctant, "That's assuming she'd agree to help. She didn't come to us as a defector, she's a prisoner of war. She didn't tell me exactly what her role was, but I'd guess by the size of the chip on her shoulder that she saw a lot of active combat, either on the ground or in space."

"Admiral." Adama turned towards a soldier that just arrived.

"Yes?"

"Voyager just initiated contact with the CIC."

"Well I guess we'll be swapping toasters after all." Colonel Tigh said.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

As Voyager slowly approached the fleet Caprica felt her nerves reach their limit. This was it. She decided to give the Captain one more reason not to kick her off the ship.

"You said you would discuss my situation."

"I did. I asked the Colonial's if they wanted me to beam you back to Galactica directly or if they wanted a manual exchange. They preferred the latter." The Captain said smartly.

"I cooperated."

"Only after wasting as much of our time and resources as possible."

Caprica moved inappropriately close as she shamelessly flirted with the Captain, "I can make it up to you... more than once." Kathryn's face flushed red in embarrassment, not just from the woman's offer, but because there was a part of it that Janeway did find rather tempting. She took a shocked step away from her. It was incredible, the lengths of manipulation that this woman was willing to go through to get what she wanted. Kathryn was a little disgusted with herself for ever feeling sorry for her. Laura Roslin had been right about some things.

"I assure you that won't be happening."

Caprica smirked, it was a response that she had expected.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

The walk from the brig to Galactica's hangar bay felt like an eternity. Six hadn't really been certain about what was happening in the beginning, especially since Colonel Tigh was walking with her and he had remained silent. At first she thought they were escorting her to an airlock for execution, but when they all boarded the shuttle and she saw Voyager in the distance her heart leapt into her throat. It was actually happening, she was actually going to make it back to Seven.

Seven paced anxiously in Voyager's hangar bay as she waited for the Colonial shuttle to dock. It was annoying, these people's fear of technology. It would have been so much easier to simply use transporters to make the trade, but Captain Janeway had insisted that they would respect the Colonial's rules irregardless of the efficiency.

As the shuttle arrived and set down in the hangar, Seven moved closer to the where the entrance was. The Captain, along with Tuvok and a small security team where on standby near Caprica- who looked as though she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her.

As the hatch opened, Colonel Tigh stepped out with Solaria and two soldiers in tow.

"Seven!" As soon as they uncuffed Solaria's hands she charged forward and hugged the former drone happily. Several tears of relief escaped her eyes. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Seven felt her organic eye begin to tear up as well. "Me too."

Caprica glared openly at everyone.

Captain Janeway walked up to Solaria as Seven relinquished her grip on the other blond. "Its good to see you again, Six."

"Thank you." Solaria sniffed. "For coming back for me."

Before the conversation could continue Janeway's combadge came to life. "Bridge, to Captain Janeway!"

"Janeway here. What is it Chakotay?"

"Several ships have entered orbit and the-"

Everyone was suddenly thrown to the ground as Voyager shook at the force of a large impact.

"Janeway to bridge, report!" She snapped into her combadge as she picked herself off of the floor. Colonel Tigh knew immediately when he heard an eerie wailing noise. "Its the Cylons! They're attacking the fleet."

"They're attacking Voyager too."

"Shields are at ninety-seven percent."

"Make sure all nuclear warheads are detonated before impact. Return fire- let them know we mean business."

"Firing phasers."

There was a loud explosion as Voyager's aft phaser cut through one of the Basestar's arms like a hot knife through butter.

Caprica grinned- she _had_ timed it correctly. In the scrambling and confusion Caprica knocked one of the colonials to the floor and took his firearm.

"And we all get our way." She said to Captain right before she shot herself in the head.

The Captain's mouth dropped open in shock as did most of the Voyager crew that had witnessed the grizzly scene, with the exception of Tuvok who merely raised an eyebrow at her peculiar behavior.

Janeway to Kim, "Beam Caprica to sickbay!" She knew the woman was dead, but she still had to try.

They watched as both Sixes disappeared. Then Janeway remembered they were clones.

Kathryn stared at Colonel Tigh as she spoke into her open combadge. "Harry, beam the colonial's and their shuttle to Galactica's hangar bay." Colonel Tigh nodded sagely in acknowledgment. "Energize."

The Cylons retreated soon after experiencing Voyager's phasers.

Kathryn and Seven arrived in sickbay a few minutes later. Caprica's body was on a biobed with a blanket covering her. Solaria smiled when she saw Seven come in.

"How did I end up here?" She directed her question to Seven.

"You are not wearing a combadge, the computer scanned for Caprica's DNA..."

"Ah. Which is the same as mine. Makes sense." Six nodded as she finished Seven's sentence.

Kathryn gave the doctor a pointed look. "She was killed instantly." The EMH said somberly.

Janeway sighed. She couldn't help but feel indirectly responsible for Caprica's death. She wasn't fond of the other woman, but it was still a waste, she thought. She wondered if she should have tried to find a way to keep Caprica on board. At least she would still be alive.

Six could see some hints of blood on the sheet. "Colonial weapons are so much messier than Voyager's." She complained dispassionately.

Janeway was irritated by Six's lack of empathy. "Was her imprisonment so terrible?"

Six was surprised by Kathryn's response, then she remembered that for most people, death was final. "Captain, please, I think you're misunderstanding the situation."

"You are aware that my people are cybernetic. When our bodies die our consciousness is downloaded into the nearest resurrection ship. Cylon vessels would not have attacked the fleet if they were out of resurrection range. When Caprica's body died, she was sent to the resurrection ship where she has already downloaded into a new body, identical to the previous one."

"So death wasn't just a figurative escape?" Kathryn asked.

"No. She's already walking around in her new body."

"I see." The Captain said feeling some relief at that. Perhaps Caprica had got her way after all.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

It had been a dizzying day. After numerous interviews with Tuvok, a physical exam with the Doctor, a shower, dinner featuring real food, and the 'welcome back' greetings from her friends in the crew, Solaria had been more than ready to head back to her quarters and have Seven all to herself.

Solaria gazed up at the clouds as she tried to determine what the shape reminded her of. She sighed contentedly as she felt a mildly warm breeze waft over her body. A salty sea smell assaulted her nostrils.

"A bird." Seven monotoned. She sounded bored.

"It doesn't look anything like a bird." Six chuckled at Seven's tone.

She could hear Seven roll her eyes, "It looks like a 'cloud'- a visible body of very fine water droplets or ice particles suspended in the atmosphere at altitudes ranging up to several miles above sea level."

"You don't quite understand this game do you?" Six smiled.

"We are staring at clouds. Then we are expressing what they remind us of. They remind me of clouds. That is what they are."

"Fail."

Seven raised her ocular implant teasingly. "I would like to see you do better."

"It looks like a button, or a grape, or the Captain's eyes when she walked in on us that time..."

"You would think of that." A smirk settled on Seven's face.

"Well its a little hard not too..." Six drawled, as she raked her eyes over the other blond. They were both naked and lying in bed; however, Solaria's projection of the island beach had conveniently interpreted their bed as a large blue beach towel.

"A diamond."

"See! Why must you pretend you don't understand?"

"I enjoy your exasperation." Seven looked thoughtful for a moment. "It is 'cute'."

Six chuckled and sidled up to the former borg. She rested her head in the crook of the other woman's neck. "Aw, you think I'm cute when I'm mad."

"No, I think you are cute when you are exasperated. When you are mad, you are a 'scary psycho'." Seven used another one of Tom's phrases. She was prepared for the thump on her arm.

"Hey!"

Seven smiled at Six's feigned frustration. But upon seeing Seven's smile Six had to return it. She leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her lips and for the first time in Six's short life, she knew that everything was going to be alright.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

Caprica Six pulled a form fitting gray tank top on and slipped on a pair of brown khaki pants. Her resurrection had been smoother than the last time with little disorientation. Whether it was because she was accustomed to the experience or she hadn't done it in a while, Caprica practically dove out of the tub as soon as she downloaded- much to the surprise of the Six and Eight that greeted her.

Now dry and clothed, she made her way down the stark metallic corridors that made up the Cylon base star. As she rounded a corner she walked past several other Cylons, a Five, a Two and another Six. She smiled at them and kept walking. She could feel their eyes follow her as she breezed by them. She wasn't sure if they were staring at her because they recognized her as Caprica Six or because she'd been in such a hurry that she hadn't bothered to put any shoes on. Cylons paid attention to small details like that.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally arrived at the base star command center. There were only three Cylons in the room: a Two, another Six (with long brown hair), and a Three. Her Three. She could tell that D'anna was in command mode and judging by the looks on the other's faces she had been in this mode for a long time. She hovered in the entrance way so that she could eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Why didn't you inform us then? Leoben and I-" The Six said trying to keep the anger out of her voice, but failing miserably.

D'anna was bored of this conversation, "Natalie, I considered it to be a 'need to know' modification...and now that you're upset, I figured that you 'needed to know.'" D'anna shrugged flippantly, disregarding the frustration emanating from the other two. That was D'anna, always feeling entitled to a command that she was never really meant to have.

Natalie spoke up again, hands clenched into fists at her sides, "You always say that! D'anna, you can't just authorize jumps without consulting the other models- and what about how this will effect the hybrid?"

D'anna let out a loud guffaw much to the Six's chagrin. How she loved frustrating this one!

"I can and I just did." D'anna moved over to Natalie and got up in the other woman's face. " And what will you do about it, Natalie?" She stared at her, daring her to rise to the bait. The Two rubbed his chin nervously. He knew that Sixes universally packed a mean punch so if this got ugly D'anna would either end up in the medical bay or a download center.

Caprica piped up from her spot in entrance, "We could always box you again. You do have a long history of being consistently wrong."

D'anna spun around ready to pierce the speaker with a nasty glare. She turned around to find a smiling Six smirking at her in the doorway with crossed arms.

D'anna's scowl turned into a look of pleased recognition. "Caprica?"

"The one and only."

D'anna was still in state of shock. She walked over to the blond Six, "How'd you-"

"Its a long story," Caprica waved it off. D'anna gently stroked a few stray curls out of Caprica's face. "It's good to see you, D'anna." The familiar warmth showing in her eyes as she watched her lover.

"It's good to see you too," D'anna said softly. "You've been sorely missed," the Three said in earnest.

Caprica gently pulled the Three into her arms and covered her mouth with her own. The tender kiss quickly becoming more passionate and their embrace more intense. In the heat of the moment they lost track of their surroundings. Their passion was finally halted by the sound of someone's throat clearing. The couple hesitantly pulled apart.

D'anna turned around with a full blush on her face. Her embarrassment evident in her inability to maintain eye contact. Caprica was flushed as well, but made no effort to hide it. The blond smirked at the brunette Six, "Well D'anna, I think that Natalie and Leoben can handle it from here." Caprica punctuated her statement with a wink to Natalie. She grabbed D'anna's hand and lead her down the hall.

"That was Caprica Six? _'_The Caprica Six?" Natalie asked the Two in disbelief as soon as the others were out of earshot.

"Yep." He looked after the couple's retreating form. "Not quite what you were expecting?"

Natalie barked angrily, "I don't know what she sees in that model!" Natalie grimaced as she watched Caprica lead D'anna down the hall. She rolled her eyes, "Well, whatever keeps her out of the command room."

Leoben laughed, "Amen to that. I suppose it would take someone special to control D'anna."

The Six nodded, then recalling something she furrowed her brow, "What the hell happened to her shoes?"

The End

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. :-)


End file.
